TASHKENT, December 1. /TASS/. Preparations for the presidential elections scheduled for December 4, are nearing completion in Uzbekistan. The Central Election Commission has registered four presidential candidates including the nation’s acting president, Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev and leaders of the country’s political parties.
The Central Election Commission announced the election campaign on September 9, following the death of the first President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov.
According to the country’s legislation, the elections will be considered valid if no less than 33% of the voters take part in the process. A candidate receiving more than 50% of the vote will win the elections.
The Central Election Commission plans to announce initial results soon after the voting is over, while the final results should be released within ten days.
In order to ensure transparency in the voting process, Uzbekistan’s Central Election Commission has invited the CIS Executive Committee, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as well as the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE ODIHR) to monitor the voting. In addition, members of parliaments and representatives of electoral bodies from CIS countries, European states, the US and the Asian-Pacific region will also act as observers.