COPENHAGEN, 18 October 2021 – More than 70 OSCE parliamentarians from 24 countries will deploy this week to Uzbekistan for the 24 October presidential election. The OSCE PA observers will work closely with colleagues from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, as well as the European Parliament.

Vice-President Reinhold Lopatka will serve as Special Co-ordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE observer mission, following an appointment by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde.

Special Co-ordinator Lopatka and Head of the OSCE PA Delegation De Ridder“The scale of our mission demonstrates the strong willingness of the international community to support a democratic path forward for Uzbekistan and its people,” noted Special Co-ordinator Lopatka. “A number of reforms have been undertaken in recent years, and this election will be an important test of how these are implemented in practice.”

Today Lopatka delivered a welcoming address for the OSCE short-term observers during an online briefing. He thanked them for their commitment and efforts and highlighted the important role of international observers in assessing the electoral process against the democratic commitments all OSCE participating countries have subscribed to.  

“Despite the numerous challenges still posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, I am very glad that we are able to deploy high numbers of observers for this election,” said Vice-President Daniela De Ridder, who will lead the OSCE PA observer delegation. “We hope to see a vibrant and competitive contest and we look forward to offering our full and impartial assessment.”

OSCE PA observers will deploy in Tashkent and surroundings, as well as Kokand, Samarkand, Bukhara and Nukus.

Altogether, the international election observation mission will have more than 300 observers in the country.

Observers will be comprehensively briefed prior to election day by representatives of the election administration and civil society, candidates and experts. The leaders of the mission will deliver the post-election statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference in Tashkent on 25 October, which will stream live on the OSCE PA website, www.oscepa.org.

The October 2021 mission marks the second time the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has observed the vote in Uzbekistan. For previous OSCE PA assessments of elections in the country, please click here.