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Uzbekistan

Monthly Event Reports

July 2023 | Mirziyoyev re-elected

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was re-elected for a seven-year term on 9 July in a snap election called after a referendum rewrote the country’s constitution and extended presidential terms from five to seven years. The Central Election Commission reported Mirziyoyev received 87 per cent of the vote with over 80 per cent turnout in an election environment without any meaningful public participation or tangible opposition. Independent media reported a lackluster campaign with a foregone conclusion, and election observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe reported “serious irregularities … challenging the integrity of the [electoral] process.” As the recent constitutional changes also reset the incumbent’s number of terms in office to zero, Mirziyoyev, who is 65, is now poised to stay in power at least until 2037.

May 2023 | Uzbekistan to head to the polls again

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced early presidential elections for 9 July during remarks to parliament on 8 May, more than three years ahead of schedule. Taking advantage of constitutional changes approved in last month’s referendum, the elections will allow Mirziyoyev to remain in office for two more seven-year terms. International observers found the referendum to be “short of genuine political pluralism and competition” and noted numerous serious violations, and analysts have described the repeated voting processes as a method for authoritarian consolidation rather than reform.

April 2023 | Constitutional referendum to keep Mirziyoyev in power

A package of constitutional reforms passed with 90.21 per cent of the vote on 30 April, clearing the path for President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to stay in power through 2040. The constitutional overhaul includes a ban on forced labour, the right to free education and healthcare, and necessitating a court order for evicting citizens from their homes. Citizens and observers were quietly sceptical of the sincerity of the process, the seventh constitutional overhaul since 1992, as open dissent was not permitted and public employees were forced to take part in pro-reform rallies.

March 2023 | Date for constitutional referendum finally set

On 15 March, the upper house of parliament approved a bill proposing changes to 65 per cent of the country’s constitution and setting a date for a national referendum on 30 April. The third constitutional referendum in the country’s history was originally planned for 2022, but was delayed following mass protests and violence against the removal of the western Karakalpakstan region’s autonomous status. The referendum preparation process has been marked by a show of mass participation and support with little in the way of details on the actual changes themselves. Domestic critics and analysts say any changes are sure to be superficial and the key purpose is to permit President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to stay in power for decades to come.

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GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
34 915 100
System of government
Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov (since 2016)
Head of government party
Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Two-Round System
Women in lower or single chamber
33.3%
Women in upper chamber
23.0%
Last legislative election
2019-2020
Head of state
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
09/05/2018
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
93.40%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
No Action
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
in
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Categories of Democratic Performance

Representation neutral Representation
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Representation neutral Rights
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Representation neutral Rule of law
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Representation neutral Participation
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Global State of Democracy Indices

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Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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