TASHKENT, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) election observers' mission said Monday that Uzbekistan's parliamentary election was transparent and democratic.
The mission said in a statement that there were no serious irregularities that could undermine the legitimacy of voting, while the SCO recognized the transparency of the process was in line with national laws.
On Sunday, people in Uzbekistan voted for a parliament with a 71.1-percent turnout, which the Uzbek Central Election Commission (CEC) called a successful and great achievement for the country.
Uzbekistan used a Unified Electronic Voter List for the first time, with more than 20.5 million voters registered, according to the CEC.
There were around 10,260 polling stations for the elections, with 55 set up at the country's diplomatic missions for some 1.7 million voters outside the country.
A total of 825 observers, as well as representatives of nine international organizations and 41 foreign countries, including China, observed the election process in all regions of the country.
Five officially registered political parties -- the National Revival Party, the People's Democratic Party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the Social Democratic Party Adolat and the Ecological Party -- have competed for 150 seats in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, namely the lower house of the parliament.
