Turkey welcomes elections held in Uzbekistan

By Davut Demircan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey welcomed Monday the successful outcome of weekend elections for Uzbekistan’s 150-seat Legislative Assembly and local councils.

“The completion of the elections, where approximately 13.5 million voters went to the polls and the turnout rate of 71.1% showed that the democratization process was successfully progressing in Uzbekistan,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Some 10,200 polling stations were established across the country to facilitate the election of 150 deputies to the legislative chamber and local councils.

“Our country will continue to sincerely support the comprehensive change and transformation that our strategic partner Uzbekistan is displaying in every field,” said the statement.

Voters in Uzbekistan cast their ballots Sunday to elect a new parliament.

They were the first parliamentary elections held since Shavkat Mirziyoyev won the December 2016 presidential election with 88.6% of the vote.