Tashkent has also held its parliamentary elections these days, dividing the votes equally between the 42.7% of the liberal-democratic party of President Šavkat Mirziyoyev and those of the other “alternative” parties, but in reality all loyal to the current regime. Meanwhile, freedom of expression and the press continues to be reduced year after year.
Tashkent () – In recent days, Uzbekistan has also held its round of parliamentary elections in the Olij Mažilis and in various regional administrations, dividing the votes equally between the 42.7% of the liberal-democratic party of President Šavkat Mirziyoyev and those of the other “alternative” parties, but in reality all loyal to the regime in power: The Democrats of Millij Tiklaniš, the Social Democrats and the People’s Democrats, which together obtained approximately the same number of seats as the majority party, between 65 and 70 , between majority and proportional seats.
Mirziyoyev smugly noted that the elections had been held “in an atmosphere of strong competition”, while for several years, even before his election in 2016, only pro-government parties have been running, while those that could even weakly represent some opposition do not even manage to register to present their candidates.
Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia, with 35 million inhabitants, and even more than its neighbors it tries to present a scenario of illusory democracy to cover its highly authoritarian regime with liberalism. In these parts, the “70-80%” law with which the elections in Russia and Belarus must conclude, and which Georgia mitigated in recent days with the victory of “almost 60%” of the Georgian Dream, is not explicitly applied. causing large protests among the population.
The last electoral competition in 2019 was still in the transition phase of the dark dictatorship of Islam Karimov, the first post-Soviet president who remained in power for 20 years. Mirziyoyev’s new regime is presented with modernizing and apparently tolerant openings, while the system remains firmly in the hands of the president, who intends to place Uzbekistan in a strategic role in the new global balance between East and West, and needs national and international support .
In fact, freedom of expression and the press in Uzbekistan continues to decline year after year, according to Reporters Without Borders statistics, so if in 2019 Tashkent obtained 46 points out of 100, today it has fallen to 37. Many independent bloggers and publicists who had gotten their hopes up about Mirziyoyev’s “thaw” are now behind bars. Instead, pro-government experts, such as Miršokhid Aslanov of Diplomat magazine, predict “a far-reaching reform program in the country’s political history.”
According to Aslanov, “the population has a great desire for change, especially with regard to the transparency of the economy, the independence of the judiciary and the defense of the environment”, major issues on which President Mirziyoyev usually dwells. The “marginal” parties, including the environmentalists, would have the role of stimulating reforms. Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe limited themselves to criticizing the “excessively restrictive measures” for party registration in elections.
One of the few outspoken critics of the president is Khindirnazar Allakulov, who has been unsuccessfully trying to register his “Truth, Progress and Unity” party for years. Former rector of Tashkent University, he is subject to constant pressure from the authorities, who also act against his relatives and supporters, often detained and subjected to humiliation, including electric shocks. His son Šerzod is currently in prison, but he does not hesitate to describe the past elections as a “propaganda spectacle.”
Last year, Mirziyoyev promoted a new Constitution for the country, following a script used by Putin’s Russia to other former Soviet countries, with which he managed to be re-elected for a new 7-year term instead of the previous 5, closing the circle with parliamentary elections that guarantee the “bright future” of the new Uzbekistan.
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