Parliamentary Elections, 26 December 2004

In response to an invitation from Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry, ODIHR conducted a limited election observation mission to assess the electoral process leading up to the 26 December parliamentary elections.

Ambassador Lubomir Kopaj of Slovakia was appointed as head of the mission, which established a head office in Tashkent on 1 December. This report is based on the findings of 21 election experts from 14 OSCE participating States, who remained in the country until 30 December and were deployed to Bukhara, Ferghana, Karshi, Nukus, Samarkand, as well as Tashkent.

According to the mission's final report: "The 26 December 2004 election of Deputies to the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan fell significantly short of OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections, despite minor improvements identified in the election law. The implementation of the election legislation by the authorities failed to ensure a pluralistic, competitive and transparent election. An analysis of the election platforms of the five registered political parties revealed no significant differences, and in general neither they, nor independent candidates nominated by initiative groups, provided the electorate with a genuine choice. Fundamental freedoms in Uzbekistan remain severely restricted, and the relevant principles necessary for a meaningful democratic election process, such as freedom of expression, association and assembly, were not respected."

Previous elections

ODIHR previously deployed a limited election assessment mission to Uzbekistan for the 1999 parliamentary elections.