Parties loyal to Uzbekistan’s president win parliament seats in election devoid of real opposition

Parties loyal to Uzbekistan’s president swept parliament seats, according to official results released on Monday, in an election devoid of any real opposition in the tightly controlled Central Asian country

There are five registered parties in the country and they nominated all candidates who ran in Sunday’s vote. While the parties may focus on different issues, some stress business climate or environmental protection, they all support President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

No genuine opposition parties are allowed in Uzbekistan.

Nearly 75% of voters had cast their ballots in Sunday’s vote, well above the 33% needed for the vote to be valid, according to election officials.

Under legislative changes introduced last year, Uzbekistan switched to a mixed election system, with half of its 150 lawmakers elected from party lists and the other half elected individually. The new rules also stipulate that 40% of those running for parliament must be women

Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the election took place amid ongoing reforms, but “the political environment remained constrained, not providing voters with a genuine choice.” They noted that “fundamental freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression remain disproportionately limited both by legislation and in practice.”.

Since taking office in 2016, Mirziyoyev has conducted a series of political and economic reforms that have eased some of the harsh policies of his predecessor, dictatorial leader Islam Karimov. Under Karimov’s rule, Uzbekistan was one of the region’s most repressive countries.

Mirziyoyev has also released some political prisoners, loosened restrictions for media and bloggers, and eased the tight controls on Islam that Karimov imposed to counter dissident views.

Mirziyoyev’s government in 2022 claimed to have eliminated what rights groups said had amounted to systemic forced labor, but some concerns have remained and rights activists say that thousands of people in Uzbekistan remain imprisoned on false charges.

In April 2023, Mirziyoyev initiated a constitutional referendum that reset presidential term limits and would allow him to stay in office until 2040.