The Central Electoral Commission of Uzbekistan has registered four candidates for participation in the December 23 presidential elections in Uzbekistan, Commission Chairman Mirza-Ulugbek Abdusalomov told a briefing here on Monday.

Head of the PDPU Faction in the Lower House of the Uzbek Parliament Asliddin Rustamov was registered as presidential candidate from the People’ s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (PDPU), Head of the “Adolat” faction in the Lower House of the Parliament Dilorom Tashmukhamedova – from the “Adolat” (Justice) Social-Democratic Party, Head of the Lower House Committee for Democratic Institutions, Non-Governmental Organisations and Self-Government Bodies Akmal Saidov – from an initiative group of voters, and current Head of State Islam Karimov – from the Liberal-Democratic Party of Uzbekistan.

According to Article 24 of the law on the presidential elections in Uzbekistan, both political parties and individual citizens of the country are entitled to nominate presidential candidates. Citizens of the republic, not younger than 35, who speak the official language and had permanently lived in Uzbekistan for not less than ten years before the date of the elections, have the right to run for presidency.

Islam Karimov assumed the post of president in 1989, after he was appointed Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan. He became president of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990 and later, in December 1991, head of the Independent Republic of Uzbekistan. A referendum was held in 1995, which prolonged his powers until 2000. He was re-elected president for five more years in the same year. The 2002 referendum increased Karimov’s presidential term from five to seven years.

Abdusalomov stated that the Democratic Party of Uzbekistan “Millii Tiklavish” and the National Democratic Party of Uzbekistan “Fidokorlal” had “failed to collect the needed number of signatures of voters, wishing to back their candidates (five per cent of the almost 16.3 million electors – 814.87 thousand people – Itar-Tass.) Therefore, they had to leave the election marathon”.

The Head of the Central Electoral Commission noted, that according to the electoral legislation, the canvassing campaign begins from the day when the presidential candidates are officially registered. “They are given equal air time on the radio and television during evening broadcasts,” Abdusalomov stated.