On November 24, the Senate of Uzbekistan ratified a constitutional law transitioning the country to a mixed electoral system. The legislation, which has been forwarded to the president for approval, amends the procedure for conducting elections and referendums.
Under the new Electoral Code, elections to the Legislative Chamber will be based on a majority-proportional (mixed) system. The system divides electoral districts into single-mandate and single-electoral districts. Of the Legislative Chamber’s 150 deputies, 75 will be elected from single-mandate districts according to the majority system (voting for the candidate), while the remaining 75 will be elected proportionally based on votes given to political parties (by party lists).
The mixed electoral system stipulates that political parties must receive at least 7% of the votes of participating voters (equivalent to five deputy seats). Consequently, the number of deputies required to form a political party faction has been reduced from 9 to 5.
The amendments also change the criteria for electing deputies. Previously, a candidate needed to secure more than half of the votes of participating voters to be elected. Under the new law, the candidate who receives the most votes in single-mandate constituencies will be considered elected.
The legislation introduces a system of election commissions comprising the Central Election Commission (CEC), regional, district, and city election commissions. The number of CEC members will be reduced from a minimum of 15 to 9, with at least one member representing Karakalpakstan. The same person may not be elected chairman of the CEC for more than two consecutive terms.
The law also increases the minimum number of women candidates from 30% to 40% of the total number of candidates nominated by political parties. The number of senators will be reduced from 100 to 65, with 4 senators elected from the regions (down from 6), and the president appointing 9 senators instead of 16.
The senators emphasized that the law aims to further expand the role of political parties in the activities of parliament and local representative bodies and to create a legal basis for the introduction of a majority-proportional electoral system for the formation of the deputy corps of the Legislative Chamber.
The law was not without opposition. MP Doniyor Ganiyev was the sole deputy to vote against it, citing the lack of provisions for the participation of independent candidates in the majority system and the clarification of the timing of elections for vacant parliamentary seats.
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