Excerpts from report by Uzbek TV on 7th November

A public opinion poll carried out in six regions of Uzbekistan
and the capital between 25th October and 2nd November showed
that nearly 95 per cent of the electorate "firmly" plan to cast
their ballot in the parliamentary elections in December, a 5
per cent increase against the previous poll, an official of a
public opinion research centre based in the Uzbek capital has
said. Marat Khadjimukhametov, a deputy director of the centre,
said that thanks to "huge" educational work amongst the public,
voters knew more now about the election laws and their rights.
He also said that the latest poll showed that voters wanted
would-be deputies to have "human qualities", to be "decent and
honest", "wise and have an understanding of life" rather than
demonstrate "professionalism", the main quality named in
previous polls. The official said that respondents said they
preferred male to female candidates, although there was a
slight increase in the number of those who said they would vote
for a woman. The preferred age bracket for deputies was 31-50,
he said. The following are excerpts from the interview
broadcast on Uzbek TV on 7th November:

[Presenter] We are continuing to report on the elections.
Now, here is our permanent expert, the deputy director of the
Public Opinion Centre, Marat Karimovich Khadjimukhametov. Good
evening, Marat Karimovich. What news have you brought to our
studio today and what concrete results are there in the
surveys? Let us talk about this.

[Khadjimukhametov] We recently carried out another opinion
poll in six regions of the Republic of Uzbekistan and in the
city of Tashkent. Now we can present the results of the survey
carried out.

[Q] Do you mean for October?
[A] Yes, between 25th October and 2nd November.

[Q] So, we have the opportunity to compare the October
results with the September results, then?
[A] Yes, undoubtedly. It is also necessary to point out
that there are, of course, as we thought during our first
meeting, considerable changes in people's opinions on both the
elections and the election campaign.

[Q] To what extent has the percentage of those who have
firmly decided to turn out in the elections changed? I recall
that this figure in September was around 90 per cent.
[A] According to the table, or diagramme which has been
specially drawn up for this meeting, in September, 89.3 per
cent of those citizens of our country who were polled firmly
said they would go to the polling stations. In October, 94.4
per cent of respondents firmly said that they would go to
polling stations.

[passage omitted: voters becoming more motivated]

[Q] So, let us continue to compare the results. At the end
of September, the survey results showed that the population
knew little about election legislation. What about now?
[A] It should be noted that the huge educational work to
enlighten the population about the laws and the parliamentary
elections and about the laws and the presidential elections is
yielding positive results. For example, the latest survey
showed that only 15 per cent of those polled said that they
knew about the laws on the elections. The results of the latest
survey showed that one in four, or 25 per cent know about the
laws on the elections well enough.
Secondly, our citizens now know more about voters' rights.
This is very important. According to the latest survey, the
percentage for this was less than 18 per cent but now it is 36
per cent. This figure shows that citizens know about voters'
rights well enough.

[Q] I recall that last time you asked a question about the
qualities a would-be deputy should have. At that time the
population gave preference to professionalism. What about now?
Has the picture changed now?
[A] Yes, the picture has changed here somewhat but not
substantially. The picture has changed in terms of the fact
that people have started demanding that would-be deputies
should have human qualities, that is, a would-be parliamentary
deputy should be decent and honest. In all, 41.3 per cent of
those polled said this. In all, 45.7 per cent of those polled
said that deputies should be wise and have an understanding of
life. Professionalism has gone back to third place but anyway
the percentage is high enough. It is about 40 per cent. These
are the three main demands on would-be parliamentary deputies
and they still remain in the lead in the list of those
qualities a would-be parliamentary deputy of our country should
have.

[Q] Could you say what age a candidate should be and what
sex is preferred? I can guess that there are more men anyway.
[A] Yes, there are more men than last time but with a
small drop in the percentage. Anyway, people give preference to
a male candidate rather than to a female candidate. If our
citizens had to choose between a male and a female candidate
then 83 per cent of our respondents would vote for a male
candidate and only 15 per cent for a female candidate. But it
should be said that the percentage has grown by 3 per cent
because last time only 12 per cent of respondents said they
would vote for a female candidate. I think that by the end of
November this figure will change too.

[Q] What about the demands for the age of a candidate?
[A] The demands for age have remained as they were the
last time, that is, the majority of our citizens are for
deputies aged between 31 and 50. In all, 89 per cent of the
respondents said this. In all, 14.6 per cent of the respondents
gave preference to a deputy aged between 51 and 60.
[passage omitted to end: Marat Karimovich said opinons in
regions mostly coicided with opinions in the capital; he said
that some rural groups were conducting opinion polls, his
centre would willingly meet with them if their results directly
contradicted its results]

Source: Uzbek Television first channel, Tashkent, in Russian
1430 gmt 07 Nov 99
BBC Mon CAU 081199/** JF/GS