Incumbent President, three other candidates lock horns wooing voters’ heart

There are three weeks to the Presidential elections in the Republic of Uzbekistan on March 29, 2015, and the contest is among four candidates each from a different political party.
The Presidential candidates are incumbent President Islam Karimov nominated by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by President Karimov, Social-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (SDPU, Adolat) Presidential Candidate Narimon Umarov, People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (PDPU) Presidential Candidate Khotamjon Ketmonov and Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (DPU, Milliy Tiklanish) Presidential Candidate Akmal Saidov.

The campaign pledges of the four candidates differ from one another.
President Karimov's program concentrates on the development of the economy of the country and promotion of the status of the country to rank favorably among the different countries of the world through continuous developments and improvements in all spheres of society, especially in the industrial field that was closely related with the livelihood of the people.

The program identifies ten main directions of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan. They are: (1) consistent continuation of the ongoing reforms in all spheres, (2) gaining a worthy place among the developed countries, (3) further improvement of the welfare of the population, (4) structural transformation of the economy and its competitiveness, (5) revision of the level of government involvement in the economy and other activities, (6) development of business, (7) entrepreneurship and farmer’s movement, (8) optimization of areas under crops and increase in yields, (9) expansion of localization programs and (10) further improvement of the investment climate and increase in exports. There also are increasing of employment of the population and strengthening of the mutually beneficial cooperation with all countries.

The three other Presidential candidates are also offering attractive election pledges, some of which overlap with those of LDP Presidential Candidate Karimov, but which clearly show their own identity and pose differences from the ruling party. Here are excerpts from the three different Presidential candidates:

Election pledges of SDPU Presidential Candidate Narimon Umarov:
The main points of the election pledges of the SDPU are (1) strengthening of social partnership between employees and employers, (2) improvement of the working conditions at work and (3) further enhancing of social responsibility of business structures.
Special attention is paid to issues of broad public examination of social development programs, primarily the implementation of measures to strengthen public control at the district and city levels, support of socially significant initiatives, creation of more favorable conditions for the activities of NGOs and development of charity.

Election pledges of PDPU Presidential Candidate Khotamjon Ketmonov: Special attention is given to issues of further improvement of the activities of the enterprises involved in processing of local raw materials, and stimulation of production of goods, competitive in the domestic and foreign markets, improvement of the efficiency of concessional lending system.
Development of family businesses and cottage industries in rural areas in the area of processing of agricultural products, consistent continuation of reforms in health and education system, strengthening of the state control of pharmaceutical companies and institutions.

Election pledges of DPU Presidential Candidate Akmal Saidov:
The election pledges of Candidate Saidov consists of a number of primary tasks for the adoption of the organization, legal and economic measures to strengthen the social entrepreneurship between the state and the civil society, creation for this purpose of a public commission in local representative bodies, as well as the introduction of sequential stimulation of non-profit, non-governmental organizations, mass media and other institutions of civil society, preservation and enhancement of historic, cultural and intellectual heritage, culture and traditions of the Uzbek people, broad dissemination of its achievements among younger harmoniously developed generation.

The process of preparation and conduct of the upcoming presidential elections are carried out at the highest level and in full accordance with the democratic principles.
Notably, the work conducted by the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan to ensure transparency and openness of the process of preparation for the elections of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan is the broad campaign coverage in the media.
Equal conditions to carry out campaign activities through the media were created for all the candidates.This year, each one of the four Presidential candidates is equally entitled to 900 minutes of campaign speeches through TVs and radios, campaigning for winning the hearts of the voters through newspapers and on-the-spot canvassing throughout the country.
At the same time, great attention is paid to the principles of objectivity, impartiality and fairness in the media coverage of events and meetings of the candidates for the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan with voters.
The work carried out to inform the general public on the activities of election commissions in the preparation and conducting of elections also deserves appreciation.
It is also necessary to note the measures taken to further improve the legal knowledge of members of election commissions for whom special seminars are organized. During such workshops, leading experts and experienced professionals explain the nature and significance of the national electoral legislation, guarantees of citizens’ electoral rights, the role of electoral commissions and civil society in the preparation and conducting of upcoming elections, as well as the role of international observers in the election process.
In general, it may not be an overstatement to say that the upcoming presidential elections in the Republic of Uzbekistan will be the most important political event, which will be of great importance in deepening democratic, socio-economic, political reforms being conducted in the country.