Tazeen Akhtar from Tashkent
The Public of the Republic of Uzbekistan stamped their approval to the amendments in the constitution in sweeping majority in nationwide Referendum 2023 held on 30 April 2023. The people cast their votes in large numbers proving that the majority of the country is in favor of reshaping the republic into New Uzbekistan where there is more efficient governance and more beneficent is the state for its citizens.
16 Million 673 Thousand 189 registered voters used their right of expression in the historical phase of the transformation of the state. In percentage it is 84.54 % of total votes. 90.21 % of them expressed full confidence in the reforms ticking “XA” (“YES”) on the ballot paper giving their free and independent approval to amend the constitution in accordance with the new challenges of the time.
A total of 611,320 citizens took advantage of the opportunity to vote early, which was offered from April 19 to 26 this year. The referendum offered compatriots living abroad the opportunity to vote in 55 referendum precincts established in 39 countries.
Dr. Zayniddin Nizamkhodjaev, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission confirmed ” Of the 19 million 722 thousand 809 citizens registered to vote in the referendum, together with compatriots who participated abroad in the referendum , 16 million 673 thousand 189 citizens received ballots and voted. This corresponds to 84,54 percent of the total number of voters in the referendum.”
“According to the preliminary results of the referendum with regard to the “Do you accept the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan?” 15. Million 40 Thousand 55 people or 90,21 percent of citizens who participated in the referendum voted “in favour”, 1 Million 559 Thousand 200 people or 9,35 percent voted “against”. The number of ballots declared invalid is 73, 934 pieces or 0,44 percent, Chairperson of CEC shared in the press conference in the presence of Deputy Prosecutor General of Uzbekistan.
According to the decisions of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the date of the referendum was April 30, 2023, and the ballot paper contained only one question: “Do you accept the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan”?
Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Uzbekistan, Dr. Zayniddin Nizamkhodjaev shared the figures at a press conference with national and international media at Press Center in Tashkent at 11 AM local time on 01 May 2023 the very next morning to the Referendum Day.
Chairperson of CEC noted;
According to the law “On Referendum of the Republic of Uzbekistan”, the decision is considered adopted in a referendum if more than half of the citizens who participated in the vote, voted “in favor”. Therefore, based on this preliminary information, there is every reason to believe that the Constitutional Law “On the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan” was adopted by the people of the Republic of Uzbekistan in a referendum!
Taking into account that there were 10,758 precincts throughout the country, the number of precincts where deficiencies were found in the conduct of the referendum is less than one-tenth (0.1) percent.
10,703 referendum polling stations in the country and 55 referendum holding grounds were established at diplomatic and other representative offices in 39 foreign countries, including referendum precincts established in Eastern countries started working according to coinciding local time. The total number of voters is 19 Million 722 Thousand and 809 in the single electronic voter list. 307 Thousand 895 citizens were included in the list of voters in 55 referendum precincts created abroad.
The referendum was covered directly by 964 media representatives, including 192 representatives of 127 foreign media.Total 383 international observers directly monitored the referendum. 10 out of them were from Pakistan including this scribe. Among Pakistanis, I as Editor /Observer from Daily Azkaar www.azkaar.com.pk / Monthly magazine & Web Pakistan in the World www.pakistanintheworld.pk visited some polling stations in Tashkent for example the polling station at Nizami University and Maktab 110. I checked every step of polling there and found complete transparency and smoothness with a large number of voters pouring in.
More than 44,000 local observers from political parties and citizens’ self-government bodies are participating in direct observation. 964 representatives of accredited mass media, including 192 representatives from 127 foreign mass media, directly monitored and covered the referendum.
President of Uzbekistan, H.E Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and his family visited the 59th polling station in the Mirzo Ulugbek district of Tashkent city to cast their votes in the Constitutional Referendum.
The referendum pertains to the draft constitutional law ‘On the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan,’ which has been in the works for a year and a half. The draft was made available to the public through various media outlets, and over 220,000 proposals were received, with every fourth proposal included in the final draft.
The number of articles in the updated Constitution has increased from 128 to 155, and the number of norms has increased from 275 to 434. International experience was also considered, involving leading specialists and experts from a variety of fields. Comprising six sessions and 155 articles, the revised Constitution aims to establish a strong parliament, a compact and responsible government, and an independent and fair judicial system to build a people-friendly state.
Referendum Commissions at all levels organized their work in accordance with the requirements of the Law “On Referendum of the Republic of Uzbekistan”. The referendum was conducted in full compliance with international norms and standards, our referendum legislation and generally accepted democratic principles such as openness and transparency.
Each citizen freely made his choice in a referendum. Some of the shortcomings observed in these procedures were identified and openly discussed in a timely manner, including with the participation of the public.The Central Election Commission and other agencies responded immediately to the cases reported in the media and social media. The above circumstances show that the referendum process was completely transparent and under public control.
14 reputable international organisations, notably the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Association of World Election Bodies, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) and the CIS, the Organisation of Turkic Speaking Countries, the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as well as 184 individuals from other international organisations and 199 international observers from 45 countries participated in this process.
For the first time in the history of Uzbekistan, more than 43,000 representatives of the country’s five political parties and citizens’self-governing bodies were able to directly observe the referendum. The observers and the monitors in the world witnessed how millions of people followed the voting process via an online transmission from the video cameras installed in the referendum precincts.
Overwhelming Participation of the Public of Republic of Uzbekistan in Referendum 2023
