During a meeting on April 12, Uzbekistan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) deliberated on the organization of early voting for the constitutional amendments referendum, as well as the arrangement of a live video broadcast of the voting process.

Bakhrom Kuchkarov, Deputy Chairman of the CEC, announced that for the forthcoming referendum, cameras will be installed in two precincts across each of the nation’s 207 districts and cities. Additionally, he mentioned that during the 2021 presidential election, one camera was placed in each district.

The “Safe City” centre under the Interior Ministry will install the devices, while the Ministry of Digital Technologies will organize live broadcasts.

The voter list is planned to be approved through an electronic unified voter register.

Furthermore, the CEC has formulated proposals to pilot biometric identification for voting at select polling stations within Tashkent’s 14th Constituency. Alongside passport or ID card identification, voters will also be verified through Face ID technology. Kuchkarov noted that this procedure would take merely “several seconds.”

The Ministry of Justice will provide the equipment for identification.

The meeting also decided to hold early voting at polling stations for citizens who will not be able to be at their residences on referendum day.

Early voting will be held from 19 to 26 April, it will be possible to vote from 9:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and from 12:00 to 16:00 — on weekends and holidays.

Members of the Interior Ministry and National Guard will be responsible for ensuring public security and order.

The CEC also approved a template and description of a Braille stencil for filling in the referendum ballot.

CEC members also emphasized the importance of conducting voting on the ground floors of buildings to accommodate citizens with disabilities. This would facilitate easier access to information, posters about the referendum, and ensure their ability to vote freely, comfortably, and confidentially for their preferred option.

To date, 144 local media representatives and 11 foreign media representatives have been accredited to the referendum. The total number of accredited journalists has reached 651.