TASHKENT, July 9. /TASS/. All of Uzbekistan’s 10,784 polling stations opened for voters willing to cast their ballot in the presidential election early on Sunday, the press service of the country’s Central Election Commission told TASS.
"At 8:00 a.m. local time on July 9 [06:00 a.m. Moscow time] all 10,784 polling stations opened for a vote to elect the president of Uzbekistan. The vote will end at 6:00 p.m. [local time, 06:00 p.m. Moscow time]," a spokesperson told TASS.
Vote at 56 polling stations abroad will also begin at 8:00 a.m. local time, according to their respective time zones.
A total of 800 foreign observers, representing several dozens of countries and international organizations, have been accredited to monitor the polls, as well as around 1,500 domestic and foreign journalists.
In accordance with Uzbekistan’s electoral law, a presidential candidate should be nominated by a political party, registered no later than six months before the election date. Currently, the republic has five registered parties.
Incumbent President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was nominated by the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (UzLiDeP). The National Revival Democratic Party (Milliy Tiklanish) also supported his candidacy. The People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan and the Ecological Party nominated their leaders, Ulugbek Inoyatov and Abdushukur Hamzayev, respectively. First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan Robaxon Maxmudova has the support of the Justice Social Democratic Party (Adolat).