On 2nd September Uzbek TV carried a special evening programme
entitiled "Huquqiy jamiyat sari", or "Towards a law-governed
society", featuring an interview with a well-known Uzbek public
figure, doctor of jurisprudence Halimboy Boboyev, on the
upcoming parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for 5th
December 1999. Boboyev, shown talking to camera, said that
Uzbekistan had been acknowledged by international experts as
having "the perfect system of electoral legislation for a
democratic republic and a law-based state".

He said the election campaign had been launched and that the new amendments
that had been introduced to the election law ensure fairness in
the election campaign by envisaging equal media opportunities
for all candidates. "Justice will be obstructed if the media
gives partial treatment to one party, rather than to them all.
There should be fairness: everybody should be offered equal
opportunities and objective treatment. Now we have all these in
our laws and we are proud of this," he said.

The 30-minute programme also showed an interview with the
chairwoman of the Tashent Regional women's committee, Sayyora
Khojayeva, who, citing "shortcomings" of German electoral
legislation, said: "From my point of view as a lawyer, our
electoral laws are, of course, more perfect than the German
laws."

Source: Uzbek Television first channel, Tashkent, in Uzbek 1630
gmt 02 Sep 99
BBC Mon CAU 040999/** VA/JF/SA