The turnout in the referendum on Uzbekistan’s new Constitution, which was held on April 30, was 84.54%, according to preliminary data. This was reported by the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Zayniddin Nizamkhojaev, at a briefing on Monday.
A total of 16,673,189 out of 19,722,809 registered voters cast their ballots. More than 611,000 citizens exercised their right to vote early April 19−26.
90.21% of voters voted to change the constitution, while 9.35% voted against it.
0.49% of ballots were declared invalid.
Source: The CEC.
The counting process has now been completed at all polling stations, including 55 overseas polling stations, the CEC chairman said.
The referendum was held in full compliance with international standards and norms, as well as the legislation of Uzbekistan. Every voter had the right to freely express his or her will, he said.
The CEC Chairman Zainiddin Nizamkhojaev said that certain irregularities that did not affect the final referendum result were indeed detected, including through media and public vigilance, and were eliminated.
At the same time, serious violations were revealed at some polling stations. Those include Syrdarya region’s No. 226, Tashkent region’s No. 651, where the CEC found violations, and Tashkent’s No. 772, where the media reported violations. These violations are being investigated by the CEC together with the responsible agencies, he said.
Overall, 0.01% of all polling stations had irregularities detected, he said.
A journalist from Pakistan requested the release of a woman who had voted twice in a Tashkent polling station the previous day (as reported by Hook). A CEC spokesperson responded that the case had not been confirmed and that there had been no violation.
