UZBEKISTAN CITIZENS VOTE, ELECTRONIC VOTING INTRODUCED FOR THE FIRST TIME

From Rohani Ibrahim

TASHKENT (Uzbekistan), Oct 27 (Bernama) -- Uzbekistan’s citizens began casting their votes at 8 am on Sunday in the parliamentary election, with polls open until 8 pm. For the first time, more than 20 million Uzbekistani voters have the option to choose between in-person and electronic voting.

Bernama observed that pleasant weather as of 10:30 am encouraged a diverse range of Tashkent residents, spanning various age groups, to take part in the voting process.

At Polling Station 19 on Mustaqillik Street in Tashkent's Mirzo Ulugbek district, voting proceeded smoothly, with facilities provided for marking paper ballots and two terminals for electronic voting. The location also drew international media attention, covering the Uzbekistan elections.

Polling Station 19 manager, Ximmatov Davlat Axatkulovich, observed that voters were already waiting when the station opened at 8 am. His interview with Bernama was conducted in Uzbek and translated into Malay by Gulzoda Utkurova, an Uzbek national who won the Malay Language International Oratory Competition in Penang in 2023.

According to Axatkulovich, as of 10 am, over 300 people had voted at the station, with 10 voters opting for the electronic method.

Meanwhile, Central Election Commission Chairman Zayniddin Nizamkhodjayev stated in a briefing aired on state television Uzbekistan 24 that 11,028 polling stations were open for today’s voting. Early voting was completed by one million domestic voters and 132,667 overseas voters from October 16 to October 23.

The same television station reported that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev cast his vote at Polling Station 59 in the Mirzo Ulugbek district at 9 am.

Earlier this month, Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Karomiddin Gadoev, told Bernama that polling stations were also open at 59 diplomatic missions worldwide, including the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Kuala Lumpur.

Five political parties are participating in this election: the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Business People - Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (O’zLiDeP), the "Milliy Tiklanish" Democratic Party, the Uzbekistan Ecological Party, the People's Democratic Party, and the "Adolat" Social Democratic Party.

-- BERNAMA