Central Election Commission sets Presidential elections day

The Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan announced 23 December 2007 as the day of Presidential elections. The election campaign will start on 21 September, commission chairman Mirzo-Ulugbek Abdusalomov said.

At its Tuesday session, the election commission passed a resolution on announcing the start of the election campaign. It also approved the plan of events of election commissions to prepare and hold the elections.

The lists of election districts with indication of the number of voters and addresses of the district election commissions will be published before 9 October, Abdusalomov said.

The district election commissions will be formed by 14 October, and divisional election commissions by 13 November.

According to Article 24 of the Law on election of the President of Uzbekistan, political parties and citizens have the right to nominate candidates to the post of the President.

A political party can nominate its candidate only if it was registered by the Justice Ministry at least six months prior to the announcement of the election campaign.

Any citizen or a group of citizens having the right to vote may form an initiative group of voters consisting of a minimum of 300 people.

The law states that the nomination may start 65 days before the elections and end 45 days prior to the elections.

The election campaign starts from the date of registration of candidates by the election commission, which is 18 November.

Both the political parties and the initiative groups of voters are granted the equal right to use the mass media for their campaigns and hold meetings with voters.

In accordance with Article 5 of the above-named law, observers from political parties, voters groups, journalists, as well as foreign states and international organizations and movements have the right to participate in all events related to preparation and holding the elections, including nomination meetings, as well as the voting and the vote-counting process.

The Central Election Commission said it would create all conditions for the open and transparent conduction of the free, just and democratic elections of the President of Uzbekistan.