Summary: January 11, 2005: Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the Parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan (published in The Hague on 27 December 2004) (Brussels)
The Presidency of the European Union has taken note of the preliminary findings of the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission on the parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan. The Presidency regrets that these fell significantly short of OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections, notwithstanding some minor improvement since the 1999 elections.
The Presidency of the European Union notes with concern that only government-approved parties were registered for the 26 December Legislative Chamber Elections and that, over the last twelve months, three aspiring political parties were not permitted to register. It is also concerned that the participation of individual independent candidates was severely curtailed. Furthermore, implementation of the election legislation and changing voting procedures at a late stage resulted in a less
transparent election. This severely reduced the scope for meaningful political competition.
The EU would expect Uzbekistan, as an OSCE participating State, to abide by its commitments. The Presidency appreciates the cooperation of the Uzbek authorities with OSCE/ODIHR in the run-up to and during the elections and is hopeful that this cooperation will continue to develop. It reiterates the EU's readiness to work with Uzbekistan to promote and implement OSCE values and principles on a basis of mutual trust.
The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Turkey Romania and Croatia *, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.
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