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Uzbek elections lacked real opposition
from BBC MONITOR 33
Uzbekistan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party cruised to victory in the October elections, retaining its place as the largest party in the bicameral parliament of the Central Asian nation. Uzbek specialist Dilmurad Avalbaev reports.
The election authorities announced that the Liberal Democratic Party won 64 of the 150 seats in the new parliament, up on the 53 it held previously. The rest went to Milliy Tiklanish (29 seats), Adolat (21), the National Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (20) and the Ecological Party (16).
For the first time, the voting followed a majoritarian-proportional system introduced by a law adopted in December last year.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said the change would lead to more competitive polls and a democratic parliament. But the elections were no different to previous ones, with only government-controlled parties allowed to run.
While the Russia-led Commonwealth of Independent States praised the polls as “transparent and fair”, OSCE observers noted a lack of competition and real choice for voters.
Opposition parties banned
The new voting system is part of the cosmetic political reforms carried out by President Mirziyoyev. In power since 2016, the Uzbek leader has kept his opponents out of the race despite promising to allow “constructive opposition” in the country.
Opposition parties such as Erk and Birlik have long been banned in the country and remain in exile. Khidirnazar Olloqulov, the first opposition leader to emerge during Mirziyoyev’s time in power, has since 2021 failed to have his Truth, Progress and Unity party registered with the Justice Ministry. Olloqulov and his supporters have said they had repeatedly been detained and interrogated by law enforcement bodies.
President Mirziyoyev casts his voteOSCE observers noted a lack of competition
Pro-government parties
The leaders of the pro-government parties engaged in highly-orchestrated televised election debates, which were described by many independent journalists and bloggers as “boring”. Former diplomat and political analyst Alisher Taksanov noted that the debates avoided important issues like the war in Ukraine and Uzbekistan’s growing external debt. “Moscow is threatening to use nuclear weapons; what is the position of the Uzbeks? What will Tashkent say about the threats of using nuclear weapons? What is the political parties’ attitude towards the Collective Security Treaty Organisation?” Taksanov wrote on Facebook on 28 September.
All five parties’ election platforms were built around promises to support, not challenge, the authorities’ policies in various spheres.
Pressure on the media
Privately-owned Uzbek media outlets have also complained about increased pressure from the authorities ahead of the polls. Among them was Qalampir. uz, which was forced to remove an investigative video looking at corruption and nepotism in the government after a complaint from the presidential administration, Radio Liberty’s Uzbek service reported on 29 August. It also said dozens of critical articles posted on popular news and analytical websites were removed within several days, with the authorities “recommending” them not to publish any negative content ahead of the polls.
Will deputies challenge the government?
One big question after the elections is if the new parliament will have at least some deputies who dare to speak out on issues that actually matter to voters. For all its rubber-stamp nature, the previous Uzbek legislature had a small number of MPs, most notably Rasul Kusherbayev and Doniyor Ganiyev, who openly challenged the government’s policies. They were able to break the mould at the otherwise tame and mundane parliament sessions by attacking corruption and incompetence in the government, state monopolies and restriction of human rights. Videos of their speeches made waves on social media, turning them into prolific newsmakers.
But both Kusherbayev and Ganiyev eventually became frustrated by the lack of support, with the former giving up his seat in late 2022 and the latter opting not to seek another term. Only time will tell if future MPs will draw inspiration from the social media impact of Kusherbayev and Ganiyev –or be disheartened by their struggles.
