Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 8 February 2021, the President of Uzbekistan signed the law “On introducing amendments and addenda to certain legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan in connection with the improvement of the electoral legislation”.

Amendments and additions are introduced to article 117 of the Constitution of the country. In the new version of the article, the elections of the President of Uzbekistan, to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis and Jokargy Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, the representative bodies of state authority will be held on the first Sunday of the third decade of October. The amendment is also reflected in the Constitutional Law “On the results of the referendum and the basic principles of the organization of the state authority”.

Based on the recommendations of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the following amendments were also introduced to the Electoral Code.

The functions of election commissions for organizing meetings of candidates with voters have been excluded, the use of state resources during the pre-election campaign is prohibited, the period for appealing decisions of election commissions is reduced from ten to five days.

The new law also introduces a procedure for including citizens of Uzbekistan living abroad in the voter list, regardless of whether they are registered in the consular diplomatic missions, as well as creates a legal basis for the voting of voters who are abroad when using portable ballot boxes at the place of residence or work.