Presidential
elections were held on December 23 in Uzbekistan, as a result of which Islam
Karimov remained in power for a third term. This contradicts the constitution
of the country. The Association of
“Human Rights in Central Asia” expresses its concern with respect to the
position of some international organizations and democratic countries that have
congratulated Islam Karimov on his re-election. The Presidential election
cannot be called free and democratic because the citizens of Uzbekistan had
been under undue pressure throughout the whole election campaign and during the
voting. The international community should provide an objective
evaluation of the legal status of Islam Karimov.
The election campaign of the President of Uzbekistan has demonstrated a mass violation of political rights
The right to stand for election. Article 90 of the Constitution of Uzbekistan restricts the tenure of the
President to two terms. From a legal point of view, the election of Islam
Karimov for a third term could be classified as an unconstitutional seizure of
power in accordance with Article 159 of the Penal Code (infringement of the
constitutional order of the Republic of Uzbekistan).
The second presidential
term of Mr. Karimov lasted from January 2000 to December 2007, that
is, eight years instead of seven as prescribed by the Constitution. Karimov has
demonstrated the ability to exploit the legal contradictions of national
legislation and the imperfection of the current Constitution, which does not
provide for an impeachment procedure for the President. Since amendments to the
Constitution on Presidential elections can only be passed by referendum,
and as the Parliament does not have such powers, the rule of Islam
Karimov since January 2007 is illegal.
All alternative
candidates supported the political course of their main opponent, Mr.
Karimov. During the election campaign none of them actively positioned
themselves as contenders for the presidency. Thus we can assume that the
participation of alternative candidates was staged by the government so as to
give a democratic aspect to the re-election of Islam Karimov.
Turnout at the polling stations. Some citizens explain their participation in the election by saying
that prior to election day, government representatives had visited them to
conduct a preliminary conversation about the importance of their participation
in the presidential election. A considerable number of citizens were outside
the country as labour migrants. They did not have an opportunity to participate
in the elections.
The nomination procedures of candidates for the presidency. The law currently stipulates that in order to register
with the Election Commission, political parties and initiative groups of
citizens need to collect signatures of at least 5% of the total number of the
people eligible to vote. These signatures must be proportionally represented in
all regions including Karakalpakstan. In quantitative terms, each potential
candidate must collect over 815 thousand signatures. During the period from
October 19 to November 9, the CEC registered four candidates for the
presidency, who ostensibly fulfilled this condition, but at the moment it is
impossible to verify the authenticity of signatures. The Limited Election
Observation Mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
of the OSCE continues to examine the issue of collecting signatures and
verifying them by the CEC.
Mr. Abdullo
Tojiboy-ugly, Mr. Jahongir Shosalimov, Mr. Akhtam Shaymardanov attempted to
register with the Election Commission as independent candidates for the
presidency.
Their statements
to the CEC went unanswered, which proves a selective approach to candidates.
Candidates from opposition parties also have been excluded from the election.
Freedom to express political views. There is no pluralism of opinions in Uzbekistan. The political and other
spheres of public life in the country are monopolized by authoritarian power.
Mass media channels are subordinated to the regime. Internet access is
systematically blocked. The population has access only to the information aimed
at supporting the current regime, while any expression of dissent is
punishable. Civil society institutions are crushed. All the registered
political parties support Mr. Karimov; even alternative candidates openly
support the political direction of president Karimov.
There is no system
of checks and balances present within the branches of government. The
government skillfully instrumentalizes the presence of international observers
for the purposes of spreading propaganda through the national mass media about
the supposed adherence to democratic norms. Any critical reporting on the
elections is either silenced or ignored. Meetings with western politicians are
used to support the image of Islam Karimov as a respected politician.
Uzbekistan is a
severely authoritarian country in the region. International organizations note
systematic human rights abuse and absence of democratic development. While the
EU sanctions in response to the refusal of the Uzbek authorities to allow an
international investigation into the Andijan tragedy of May 13, 2005 are
formally still active, they are currently temporarily suspended. And this while
the findings of the UN Committee against Torture (November, 2007), the OSCE interim report on the presidential electionin Uzbekistan (December, 2007) confirm a deterioration of the situation in
regard to civil and political rights.
The
congratulations of the UN Secretary-General Pan Gi Mun, NATO Secretary General
Jaap De Hoop Scheffer, of Dimitrij Rupel, Foreign Affairs Minister of
Slovenia currently holding the Presidency of the European Union, the Director
General of UNESCO Koichiro Matsuura, the Secretary-General of OSCE Marc Perrin
de Brichambaut, the Federal President of Germany Horst Keller addressed to
Islam Karimov in connection with his election for a third term as President of
Uzbekistan are openly supporting his illegal stay in power.
The Association of "Human Rights in Central Asia" considers that the presidential elections held
in December, 2007 are in contradiction with the country’s Constitution. By
collaborating with Karimov, respected international organizations and
institutions, created to protect and develop democracy in the world, are
working towards strengthening the authoritarian regime in Uzbekistan, in direct
contradiction to their mission. This undermines their respectability. Based on
the constitutional principles of Uzbekistan and international agreements on
human rights, the Association calls on the international community to provide
an objective evaluation of the legal status of Islam Karimov.
