Tashkent (TDI): Uzbekistan will hold polls for the 150-member Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (Lower House of Parliament) on October 27, under a new mixed electoral system, with the theme “My choice is my prospering Motherland.”
In the polls, half of the candidates will be elected from single-member districts under the first-past-the-post system, while the other half will be elected through countrywide proportional representation, requiring parties to surpass a 7% electoral threshold.
If less than one-third of eligible voters participate, the election will be declared invalid.
Additionally, if no party meets the threshold for proportional seats, the elections will also be considered void.
By mandate, at least 40 percent of the candidates must be women, an increase from the 30 percent requirement in the 2019 elections.
Apart from the voters, Legislative Chamber, 56 members of the upper chamber, 65 deputies of the Jokargy Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, and 12 regional and 208 district and city council seats will also be contested by approximately three thousand candidates.
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The authorities have invited the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to send a team of long-term observers for the polls.
On October 5, Uzbekistan hosted a groundbreaking pre-election TV debate for party leaders, broadcast live across multiple TV channels and social media platforms in Uzbek, Russian, English, and Karakalpak.
The debate included contributions from the nation’s youth, women, and ethnic minorities, in a drive to engage voters described by organizers as “innovative, creative, and interactive.”
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Five parties have been registered for the upcoming elections: the Liberal-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the Adolat (Justice) Social-Democratic Party, the Milli Tiklanish (National Revival) Democratic Party, the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan, and the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (PDP).
