For Uzbek citizens this year’s holy Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj, coincides with the concluding stage of the Uzbek presidential election campaign. About 5,000 citizens will travel to Saudi Arabia to make the Hajj.

In order for the pilgrims to use their voting right, enshrined in the Uzbek constitution, they are given an opportunity to vote in advance in line with legislation, UzA reported.

This complies fully with the law "On election of the president of the Republic of Uzbekistan", Article 31 of which states that voters who have no chance of being present at their place of residence on polling day, may request a ballot paper from the local electoral commission. After choosing a presidential candidate, they can leave the filled ballot paper in a closed envelope with the commission.

In implementation of this law, the Uzbek Central Electoral Commission at a meeting held on 16 November adopted a resolution on voting arrangements for citizens making the Hajj.