TASHKENT (TCA) — President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on August 22 met with the leaders of the country’s political parties to discuss the issues of increasing the role of parties in the socio-political life and the preparation for the elections to the national parliament and local representative bodies due in December this year, the president’s official website said.
The president said that today, Uzbekistan is at a new stage of its development, deep democratic reforms are underway in all areas. Special attention is paid to the consolidation of principles of a multi-party system and political pluralism.
Currently, there are five political parties in Uzbekistan — the Milliy Tiklanish (National Revival) Democratic Party, the People’s Democratic Party, the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businesspeople – the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party, and the Ecological Party.
The head state emphasized that “a political party can be considered a political force only when it keeps pace with the times, able to meet the stringent requirements of our day.”
The forthcoming parliamentary and local council elections are the most important political event in the life of the country, and will come to be a great political school both for political parties as much as for all our people, the president said.
Conducting elections on principles of multi-party system and alternative choice, openness and transparency, in accordance with generally recognized democratic standards largely depends on the extent of preparation of the parties for the voting process, their active participation in electoral campaigns.
The Uzbek electoral law stipulates that only political parties nominate parliamentary candidates.
