The two-day event, "Elections to Representative Bodies and the Issues of Increasing Political Culture of the Electorate", was organized by the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan, the Foundation of Regional Policy (Uzbekistan), the U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

It brought together some 70 experts and researchers from more than 20 countries and international organizations.

"We regard this discussion as part of the OSCE’s continuous support to Uzbekistan’s efforts to implement its OSCE commitments and to develop civil society for the sake of stable and consistent democratic transformations," said Ambassador Istvan Venczel, the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan.

Participants discussed the role of elections to the representative bodies in fostering participatory democracy, challenges of public campaigning and improving voter education, and the role of governmental and non-governmental institutions in ensuring compliance with election legislation. They also spoke about the role of political parties, the media and civil society in increasing the political participation of citizens and the transparency of elections, as well as international standards in the field.