People of Uzbekistan vote on constitutional amendments

Voting in a constitutional referendum is taking place at polling stations in Uzbekistan today. The referendum participants should answer one question:

"Do you accept the Constitutional law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan"?".

Polling stations opened at 8:00 (6:00 Moscow time) local time. The voting will continue until 20:00 (18:00). Voting is taking place in accordance with national legislation and international standards, Zainiddin Nizamkhodzhaev, chairman of the commission, said at a briefing.

Uzbek citizens are actively voting: as early as 11:00 (9:00 Moscow time), the turnout was 38,13% or 6,820,838 million voters. The new constitutional articles provide for the extension of the term of office of the President of Uzbekistan from five to seven years, the strengthening of other branches of power and the enhancement of the citizens' role in the process of governing the state.

In total, 19,7 million voters are registered in Uzbekistan, 10,758 polling stations have been organized, the CEC reported.

What's new?
After the introduction of new articles into the Basic Law of the country, their total number will increase from 128 to 155, considering the amendments, the Constitution will be updated by 65%. In accordance with the legislation of the republic, a referendum is considered valid if more than half of the citizens who have the right to participate in the plebiscite took part in voting.

The current Constitution was adopted in 1992. Since then the Basic Law of the country has been amended 15 times. In particular, the residents of the republic are offered to vote on the extension of the president's term of office from five to seven years. In addition to this, the draft constitutional law allows the incumbent head of state Shavkat Mirziyoyev to be re-elected to this position after two consecutive terms.

The changes also include a reduction in the number of senators from 100 to 65, a ban on the death penalty and the extradition of a citizen of the country to a foreign state. For the first time, the Constitution includes a separate chapter on the civil society institutions and guarantees for their activities. The amendments also presuppose the powers of the lower house of parliament to control the implementation of the state budget and consider the report of the Chamber of Accounts.

The draft law also introduced a rule on the exclusive power of the court to decide on the restriction of property rights, as well as to limit the right to privacy of correspondence and any other communications. The new Constitution provides that the state will assume several new obligations to reduce poverty, provide employment and protect against unemployment.

Where can you vote
The authorities established 14 district election commissions and organized 10,758 polling stations. More than 611,000 citizens who are unable to be at their place of residence on voting day were able to participate in the plebiscite ahead of schedule from April 19 to April 26.

Citizens of Uzbekistan abroad can vote for a new constitution in 39 countries, where 55 stationary polling stations are organized at embassies and diplomatic missions.

In Russia, polling stations were opened in seven cities: at the embassy of the republic in Moscow, as well as at the Consulates General of Uzbekistan in St. Petersburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok.

According to the Law "On Referendum", the updated Constitution will be adopted if the changes are supported by more than half of the citizens who took part in the vote. The voter turnout for the referendum is more than half of the voters included in the lists.

The CEC of Uzbekistan promises to announce the preliminary results of the referendum tomorrow, on May 1.