| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Oliy Majlis / Supreme Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Qonunchilik palatasi / Legislative Chamber |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Senat / Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) | 26 December 2004
9 January 2005 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for seats in the Legislative Chamber for the first time since the decision in January 2002 to establish a bicameral parliament. |
The first parliamentary election under the bicameral system
introduced in 2002
was held in Uzbekistan on 26 December 2004. In this landlocked country of 26 million people
some 500 candidates from five political parties competed for 120 seats in the lower house of parliament
the Legislative Chamber (Oliy Majlis)
which replaces the previous 250-member Supreme Council. The upper house consists of 100 senators
16 of whom are appointed by the President
while the rest are chosen by regional councils.
Although the new parliamentary system is intended to increase the role of
political parties in the decision-making process
many analysts believe that those parties that have been able to take part in elections largely remain under governmental control. Following amendments to the requirements set out in the Law "On Elections to Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan" in August 2003
only registered political parties and voters' initiative groups have the right to field candidates for election. Election officials refused to register three major political parties - Freedom
Unity and Free Peasants - that would probably have formed a parliamentary opposition. They were thus unable to take part in the election
which led them to call for a boycott. Consequently
all five parties represented in the election - The People's Democratic Party
Self-Sacrificers Party
Justice Party
National Renaissance
and Liberal-Democratic Party - are supportive of the policies of President Karimov
who has been in power since Uzbekistan's independence in 1991.
At this election held during the Christmas vacation
a relatively small number of international observers monitored polling stations: 70 from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and 21 from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The latter identified some improvements since the 1999 elections
such as a 30 percent quota for female candidates and new financial regulations concerning political parties. However
it criticized the lack of sufficient conditions for a democratic vote. The head of the OSCE/ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) Limited Election Observation Mission
insisted that "fundamental principles for a meaningful democratic election process
such as freedom of expression
association and assembly
must be respected in future elections". The EU Presidency also regretted that the elections fell significantly short of commitments of the OSCE participating States to hold genuinely democratic elections in the broader context of respect for human rights and other international standards for democratic elections.
According to the Central Elections Commission (CEC)
85.1 percent of 14.33 million eligible voters
or 12.97 million people
cast their ballot without any irregularities
although reports from the capital Tashkent said the turnout appeared to be lower than official figures. Official turnout was much higher than the 33 percent required to validate the vote. The CEC indicated that in many constituencies candidates did not gain the minimum 50 percent of votes needed to win the seat. Consequently
a second round was organized on 9 January 2005 for the two leading candidates in 58 constituencies.
Final results gave the Liberal and Democratic Party a total of 41 seats
followed by the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan with 28 deputies. Fidorkorlar received 18
while Citizens' groups nominees had 12. Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (Milliy tiklanish) got 11. The remaining 10 seats went to Adolat. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 26 December 2004 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
14'332'736
12'197'159 (85.1%)
|
|
Notes
|
Only 62 candidates gained the minimum 50 percent of votes needed to win the seat. |
| Round no 2 | 9 January 2005 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
5'400'000
80%
|
|
Notes
|
Only 62 candidates gained the minimum 50 percent of votes needed to win the seat. |
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen - Liberal-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan |
114 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| National Democratic Party of Uzbekistan |
108 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Fidorkorlar |
84 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (Milliy tiklanish) |
58 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Citizens' groups nominees |
54 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Adolat |
71 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round no 2
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen - Liberal-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan |
|
|
|
|
34.20 |
|
|
| National Democratic Party of Uzbekistan |
|
|
|
|
23.30 |
|
|
| Fidorkorlar |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Adolat |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Citizens' groups nominees |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (Milliy tiklanish) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen - Liberal-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan |
21
|
|
|
|
|
| National Democratic Party of Uzbekistan |
18
|
|
|
|
|
| Fidorkorlar |
9
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (Milliy tiklanish) |
6
|
|
|
|
|
| Citizens' groups nominees |
6
|
|
|
|
|
| Adolat |
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
Round no 2
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen - Liberal-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan |
20
|
|
|
|
|
| National Democratic Party of Uzbekistan |
10
|
|
|
|
|
| Fidorkorlar |
9
|
|
|
|
|
| Adolat |
8
|
|
|
|
|
| Citizens' groups nominees |
6
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (Milliy tiklanish) |
5
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
99
21
17.50%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
|
4
24
63
27
2
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan (http://www.elections.uz/)
- Oliy Majlis
Legislative Chamber (11.03.2005) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
