67. Are there provisions for conflict of interests for candidates and/or elected officials?

V. ELECTION ADMINISTRATION

The CEC formed DECs from nominees selected by the deputies of city and regional kengashes (councils). DECs formed PECs based on recommendations of the councils; the former receive nominations from mahallas. Women comprised 36.8 and 47 per cent of DEC and PEC members, respectively. Members of political parties, candidates and their proxies cannot serve on election commissions; the only criterion for membership in lower-level commissions in the law is reputation. Often PEC members concurrently worked in mahalla committees or were employees of institutions colocated with polling stations. In many instances, PEC chairpersons were also the heads of institutionswhere the polling station was located, and some PEC members were also their subordinates, which potentially discourages dissent and challenges their ability to make independent decisions.28 Measures to safeguard the independence of election commissions should be taken, in particular to address potential conflict of interests when hierarchical employment relations are replicated in the composition of PECs.

(Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the Election of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 1991, available at http://www.elections.uz/ru/events/legislation/408/ accessed January 2018).