Polling stations opened early Sunday in Uzbekistan to choose a new two-chamber parliament to replace the current single-chamber legislature, according to reports from Tashkent.

Polling stations opened at 6:00 a.m. (0100 GMT) and will close at 8:00 p.m. (1500 GMT). More than 14 million eligible voters will choose from more than 500 candidates vying for 120 seats in the lower chamber.

The voting is the first part of a process to elect a two-chamber assembly. A 100-seat upper house will be elected in January by provincial councils and President Islam Karimov.

The president, who proposed the change in 2002, called the polls "a step towards democracy." Critics however accused the authorities of turning down all opposition-nominated independent candidates, leaving only five legal parties loyal to President Karimov.

The authorities announced extra security measures ahead of the polling to prevent terror attacks. A series of suicide bombings and shoot-outs with police occurred in March and July this year.

The authorities blamed al Qaida-trained Muslim radicals for the violence, in which more than 50 people were killed.

Source: Xinhua