Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) —  As of 3:00 PM, over 12.5 million citizens had participated in the elections for deputies of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis and local councils, according to Uzbekistan’s Central Election Commission (CEC).

The CEC reports that, out of 19.94 million registered voters, more than 12.5 million people have voted so far, representing a turnout of 62.7%. No legal violations were reported during the voting process.

Five parties are participating in the elections: the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Business People – the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the Democratic Party "Milliy Tiklanish," the Ecological Party, the People’s Democratic Party, and the Social Democratic Party "Adolat."

There are 5,770 district and 11,028 precinct election commissions in operation, including 57 polling stations in 40 foreign countries.

Voting continues, and polling stations will close at 8:00 PM.

This year, the elections are being held under a new mixed majoritarian-proportional system for the first time: out of 150 seats in the Legislative Chamber, 75 will be allocated by single-member constituencies, and the remaining 75 by a single national constituency based on party votes.