2009–10 Uzbek parliamentary election

A candidate for election had to belong to a registered party and collect a minimum of 40,000 signatures. Several opposition politicians have alleged that all candidates also had to be approved by the government before they would be placed on the ballot.[5] The four registered parties were:[5][6]

• Adolat (Justice Social Democratic Party), with 123 candidates and 10 seats in the outgoing legislative chamber;
• Milliy Tiklanish (Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party), with 125 candidates and 29 seats in the outgoing legislative chamber;[note 1]
• People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (PDP), with 134 candidates and 28 seats in the outgoing legislative chamber;
• Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (O'zlidep), with 135 candidates and 41 seats in the outgoing legislative chamber.

The election campaign consisted of 15- to 20-minute television programs each day for four days, as well as a second program called "Election – Mirror of Democracy". Transcripts from these shows were reprinted in newspapers, and billboards also appeared touting the upcoming choice that Uzbeks had to make.[5] The four parties have publicly criticized each other, mainly over social policy, while praising President Islam Karimov's achievements.[4] Freedom House, a US-based human rights organization, says the discussions appeared on television for the first time, which was a positive development, but that "We have some evidence from Uzbek activists that those debates were scripted. And even if not – these parties don't know themselves who they are, they have no ideology."[5]

There were 17,215,700 eligible voters for the 2009 parliamentary elections.[1] By 1 pm UZT (0800 UTC), 57.3% (9,879,195 voters) had cast their vote, ensuring that the election would be valid under Uzbekistani election law (33% minimum turnout required).[8] By 5 pm UZT (1200 UTC), 79.4% (13,670,387 voters) had cast their votes.[9] Final turnout for the first round (based on provisional figures) was 87.8% (15,108,950 voters).[2]

On 24 December, all 16 million mobile phone users in Uzbekistan received an SMS informing them of the forthcoming elections.[10] According to an Uzbek living in exile in the United States, "there are certain groups of the population which are under pressure and they are compelled to participate in the election – students, teachers, government employees."[5]

For the second round on 10 January 2010, the electorate was 4,969,547.[11] Of these, 16.3% (812,502 voters) were reported to have voted by 9 am UZT (0300 UTC), just three hours after polling stations had opened.[11] The final turnout (based on provisional figures) when polls closed at 8 pm UZT (1500 UTC) was 79.7% (3,960,876 voters).[12]

Preliminary results were announced by the Central Election Commission on 29 December. Results were declared in 96 out of the 135 electoral districts; in the remaining 39 districts, no candidate obtained an overall majority of votes, and so a second round of voting was held in 10 January 2010.[13] Final results were announced by the Central Election Commission on 13 January 2010.[3]

• Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan