Parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan 2014/15

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Distribution of seats after the election:
  • Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan : 52
  • Milliy Tiklanish : 36
  • People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan : 27
  • Adolat : 20
  • Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan : 15

    • The parliamentary election in Uzbekistan 2014/15 was held on December 21, 2014 with a runoff on January 4, 2015 . The members of the Oliy Majlis , the lower house of the Uzbek parliament, were elected.

    Electoral system

    The electoral system remained largely unchanged compared to the previous parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan in 2009/10 . 135 of the 150 seats were awarded by majority vote in 135 constituencies nationwide . The candidates needed an absolute majority to enter the Uzbek parliament. If none of the candidates in a constituency succeeded, a run-off election was held two weeks after the first ballot between the two most successful candidates in the first ballot. A voter turnout of at least 33% was required for the election to be valid . The nomination of the candidates came from the four registered parties in the country, whereby a women's quota of 30% was required by law. The signatures of 40,000 citizens entitled to vote were also required for registration. The registration of candidates and the organization of the election were largely carried out by the Central Electoral Commission, which at the time of the election consisted of 15 men and three women who were appointed by both houses of parliament. In addition to the 135 elected MPs, 15 MPs were elected at the party conference of the Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan. Fifteen seats in parliament were reserved for this movement, which were occupied by MPs from the 14 regions of the country and from the movement's central council. The possibility of voting existed in 9035 polling stations nationwide and in 44 diplomatic representations of Uzbekistan abroad.

    Candidates and parties

    The political landscape of Uzbekistan continued to be marked by the tough stance of the government around long-term president Islom Karimov against any kind of opposition . Opposition parties were denied registration so that they were not allowed to vote in parliamentary elections and nominate candidates. Therefore, only the candidates of the four registered political parties stood for election in the parliamentary elections. They were all loyal to the president and praised his policy, but set different accents in individual policy areas. The following four parties ran for election:

    All four parties nominated a candidate in each of the 135 electoral districts, resulting in a candidate field of 540 applicants. Five candidates abandoned their candidacy before election day, the proportion of women was 31.8% and thus above the statutory quota of at least 30%.

    Election campaign

    An election campaign took place in the run-up to the election, but it was characterized by the lack of political pluralism . Due to the loyalty of all registered parties to the regime and the restriction of fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly , there was no controversial political debate before the election. The main means of campaigning were election posters , election advertisements on television, advertisements in the country's newspapers and smaller events to introduce the candidates. The Internet also played an increasingly important role in shaping political opinion. The main topics of the election campaign were economic development and social security in Uzbekistan. In the course of the election campaign, the efforts of all parties intensified in the days immediately before the election. The funding of the election campaign was based on equal opportunities for all registered candidates and parties. All parties and candidates received state funds for the election campaign; these payments were even significantly increased compared to previous elections. An increase in the election campaign budget through donations or expenses by the candidates themselves was generally permitted, but all additional financial resources had to be reported to the Central Election Commission, which divided them among all candidates in the affected electoral district. This campaign financing option was not used by any candidate before the 2014/15 parliamentary elections.

    Result

    Liberal Democratic Party logo

    In 113 of the 135 electoral districts, one of the candidates managed to win the absolute majority required in the first ballot. A runoff election was held on January 4, 2015 in the remaining 22 constituencies. The turnout was given as 88.94% for the first ballot and 76.93% for the second ballot. Finally, the following distribution of mandates resulted in the lower house:

    Political party Mandates Change compared to 2009/10
    Liberal Democratic Party 52 −1
    Milliy Tiklanish 36 +5
    People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan 27 −5
    Adolat 20th +1
    Ecological movement 15th 0
    total 150 0

    Overall, the 2014/15 parliamentary elections did not bring about any significant political changes. The Liberal Democratic Party remained the strongest faction compared to the previous parliamentary election, despite losing a mandate. A continuing trend was the rise of the Milliy Tiklanish party, which was again among the winners.

    rating

    The election was accompanied by national and international observers. At the national level, the Central Election Commission registered 35,000 observers from the registered parties, who ensured that electoral events were observed across the board. A total of 270 international observers were in the country, among others from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States . The conclusion of the OSCE observation mission was similar to that of the 2009/10 parliamentary elections. The election was described as neither free nor fair. Criticisms included the restriction of fundamental rights, the repression of the opposition, the lack of participation by minorities and the reservation of mandates for the ecological movement.

    Individual evidence

    1. ↑ IPU PARLINE database: UZBEKISTAN (Qonunchilik palatasi), Electoral system. Accessed May 15, 2020 .
    2. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw February 24, 2015, p. 3 ff .
    3. ^ Uzbekistan Parliamentary Elections 2014. In: Central Asia Program. February 4, 2014, accessed May 15, 2020 (American English).
    4. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw February 24, 2015, p. 12 .
    5. ^ Uzbekistan announces parliamentary election results. Retrieved May 15, 2020 .
    6. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw February 24, 2015, p. 13-14 .
    7. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw February 24, 2015, p. 21 .
    8. ^ Catherine Putz: Final Tally on Uzbekistan's New Parliament: A 2014 Repeat? Retrieved May 15, 2020 (American English).
    9. ↑ Uzbekistan's Parliamentary Elections: Business As Usual (Except For One Thing). Retrieved May 15, 2020 .
    10. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw February 24, 2015, p. 17-19 .