“I am sure the principles of justice and transparency will be strictly observed during today’s elections,” the President said. “Elections mean a free voting with deep understanding of one’s rights. By participating in the elections, we not only realize our right to vote, guaranteed by the Constitution, but also acknowledge our responsibility for the future of our Motherland.”

Over the years of independence, the election system has been formed in the country, which complies with the generally acknowledged standards and democratic principles. A solid legal foundation has been created in this direction, based on the country’s Constitution and election legislation, UzA reported.

The election laws were amended recently to further liberalize ad democratize the election system and strengthen the role of the political parties.

“Conduction of the election to the Legislative Chamber and local councils on the multi-party and alternative basis reflects the formation of the democratic state and compliance of our election system with the international norms.

“Our people know that the present elections significantly differ from the previous ones. The people vote not only for the selected candidate, but also for the party the candidate is a member of, thus expressing support to the ideas of this party.

“Therefore, each party has to realize the responsibility that is laid upon it. The party that does not fulfill the people’s hopes will leave the political area by itself. In this sense, the present elections are a very important test for the parties.”

Answering the journalists’ questions, the head of the state touched upon the problem of the world financial crisis and the measures to overcome the crisis implemented in Uzbekistan.

“The life has proved that the path Uzbekistan had chosen is the most correct and the most realistic. While moving from the administrative system to market economy, we followed the principle “Do not destroy your old house before building a new one”. We chose the evolutional and step-by-step way of reforms,” the President said.

Speaking about the complex environmental situation in the region of Central Asia, Islam Karimov said the problem of the Aral Sea could not be solved merely by holding various forums and conferences. Practical steps need to be taken on this way, he stressed.

Taking this into consideration, 15 deputy seats in the lower house of the parliament have been allocated for the Environmental Movement of Uzbekistan.

The people of Uzbekistan live with the goals of building a democratic state and free civil society. The 2009 elections will serve to achieving these goals.