September 21, 2021, Tashkent. Today an international round table on “Civil society institutions and elections” that was attended by representatives of the Central Election Commission, Ministries of Justice, political parties along with the academic community, non-governmental non-profit organizations, as well as international experts and representatives of diplomatic corps accredited in Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent online and offline.

The purpose of the event is to exchange views and experience on the participation of civil society institutions in the electoral process, develop sound proposals and recommendations on the active involvement of NGOs and volunteers in the electoral process, improve the legal and electoral culture of the population, and ensure democratic elections.

Civil society organizations and institutions play critical role for safeguarding openness and transparency of elections, promoting engagement of disadvantaged groups in electoral process, and increasing electoral awareness to ensure participation of well-informed voters in elections, - noted Matilda Dimovska, UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan during her welcoming speech to the participants of the round table.

During the event, the main emphasis was placed on informing the general public about the political, legal and organizational conditions created for the activities of civil society institutions in Uzbekistan. In their presentations, the experts and participants covered the following topics: “Elections as a necessary element of civil society and a political institution of interaction between the state and civil society”, “The role of civil society in enhancing electoral culture”, “International standards and national legislation in the field of civil society participation in electoral processes”, “Ensuring transparency and openness of the media, social networks and elections”.

Following the results of the event, the final document providing a number of recommendations and proposals in order to enhance the role and importance of civil society institutions in electoral processes, ensuring fairness and legitimacy, transparency and openness of elections was adopted.

Since 2019 UNDP jointly with the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan, is implementing the project on "Support to the Electoral Process in Uzbekistan in 2019-2021" under the financial support from the UN Election Assistance Division, Kingdom of Sweden, the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in Uzbekistan. The project covers series of activities to enhance the capacity of election organizers and stakeholders, increase the participation of women, youth and people with disabilities in elections, as well as to carry out electoral legal reforms to strengthen the electoral process in accordance with international legal standards and best practices.