STORY: Uzbekistan holds first mixed-system parliamentary election
SHOOTING TIME: Oct. 27, 2024
DATELINE: Oct. 27, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:04
LOCATION: Tashkent
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of voters casting ballots

STORYLINE:

Uzbekistan began voting in its parliamentary and local council elections on Sunday, conducting its first use of a mixed electoral system. 
   
"For the first time in the history of Uzbekistan, elections to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (the lower house of the parliament) will be held on the basis of a mixed electoral system," said the Central Election Commission.
   
Uzbekistan's Legislative Chamber will elect 150 deputies, half of whom will be chosen through single-mandate constituencies and the other half based on political party lists in a proportional nationwide vote.
   
Five officially registered political parties are competing for these seats, with around 20 million voters registered to cast their ballots.
   
The election is expected to draw 851 international and foreign observers.
   
A recent survey by the Center for Progressive Reforms, an Uzbekistan-based research institute, shows a population eager for change, particularly in areas such as transparency, economic reform, judicial independence, and environmental protection.
   
The last parliamentary elections took place in December 2019.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Tashkent.
(XHTV)