Online International Conference on the outcomes of Presidential Elections 2023 in Republic of Uzbekistan

On 18th July, 2023, an online conference was arranged by Pakistan Research Centre of Communities with Shared Future (PRCCSF) in collaboration with Development Strategy Centre, Tashkent Uzbekistan. The aim of the conference was to discuss the “Outcomes of Uzbekistan’s Presidential Elections 2023”, Mr. Eldor Tulyakov (Executive Director, Development Strategy Centre Tashkent Uzbekistan) and Mr.Khalid Taimur Akram (Executive Director of Pakistan Research Centre of Communities with Shared Future) jointly hosted/moderated.
About 15 participants were present in the conference, which included Professor Dr. Mehboob Hussain (Chairman History of Pakistan studies Department, University of Punjab, Lahore), Senator Sitara Ayaz (Secretary General, International Parliamentarians Congress), Ms.Hafsa Akram (Research Assistant, PRCCSF) and many more.
The aim of the conference was to discuss the outcomes of the Presidential Election of Uzbekistan, that took place on 9th July, 2023. Mr. Khalid Taimur Akram, Professor Dr. Mehboob Hussain and Senator Sitara Ayaz, who were also the International Election observers, shared their experienes and all of them praised the Uzbekistan Election Commission for holding free and fair elections.
Honourable Guest Mr. Eldor Tulyakov (Executive Director, Development Strategy Centre Tashkent Uzbekistan) thanked the Pakistani observers for their contributions as election observers. He briefly gave an overview of the Presidential elections and explained how peaceful and well organized the whole process was. He said that “almost 79 percent of the citizens; out of 19 million, exercised their vote, and approximately 10,000 voting stations were established across the country for easy accessibility”. He further added that “about 24 newspapers covered the election campaign and electronic media gave full coverage to all parties to broadcast their campaign”.
Mr Mehboob Hussain ((Chairman History of Pakistan studies Department, University of Punjab, Lahore) shared his experience, in which he had a lot of pleasant thing to say about the election process. He said “the most impressive thing that I saw in Tashkent was the efforts of the Election Commission to reach out to handicapped citizens and the hospitalized ones. People from Election Commission gathered the data of all the handicapped/hospitalized people; who couldn’t reach the polling stations, through email and online forms and went to them to get their votes. He added” it is a very good idea and Pakistan needs to learn from Uzbekistan’s Election Commission about their best practices”.
Sentor Sitara Ayaz ((Secretary General, International Parliamentarians Congress) was also shared her views on the visit to Uzbekistan, to which she said that “it was a very pleasant experience to be an observer from Pakistan. The Uzbek citizens had a lot of good things to say about the government and satisfied with how the election was held. But what caught my eyes was the cleanliness of the city; not a single banner or pamphlet was seen on the roads. Also, the arrangements made by the Election Commission representatives were beyond impressive; no police or law enforcement authorities were present, and yet everything was well organized and disciplined”.
Ms. Hafsa Akram (Research Assistant, PRCCSF) made a speech regarding the outcomes of Uzbekistan’s Election, remarkable reform and modernization. She pointed out the development made under the regime of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and how the elections held in Uzbekistan were conducted in full compliance with the international electoral norms and standards. She further added that under President Mirziyoyev's guidance, country has undertaken significant economic and political reforms. These reforms strive to create an economy based on free market principles, promote foreign investment, ensure a peaceful and prosperous life for the citizens, diversify the economy, and enhance Uzbekistan's cooperation on the international stage. The reforms implemented under the New Uzbekistan initiative are both remarkable and beneficial for the people of Uzbekistan.
At the end, Mr. Khalid Taimur Akram (Executive Director of Pakistan Research Centre with Communities of Shared Future) gave his concluding remarks. He said that “I agree with the views given by Mr. Mehboob Hussain and Senator Sitara Ayaz, as being one of the international observers was a unique experience. There are a lot of things that Pakistan can learn from election commission of Uzbekistan, such as discipline, organization, dedication, team work and most importantly cleanliness during the election campaign”. Mr. Khalid Taimur also acknowledged the efforts of the Election Commission of Republic of Uzbekistan for arranging such a transparent Presidential election.