Uzbekistan’s New Era: Establishing a Democratic Legal State through Electoral Reform and Parliamentary Empowerment

ISLAMABAD:Theyear2016forUzbekistanwasmarkedbythebeginningofafundamentallynewinessenceandcontentstageofstateandsocialconstruction,inwhichthemainstrategicgoalwasproclaimed-theconstructionofaNewUzbekistan,basedonthevaluesthatservedthegreatestflourishingofourstatehoodinthe9th-10thcenturies(knowninworldhistoryasFirstEasternRenaissance)andXIV-XVcenturies(SecondEasternRenaissance).

Asinpreviousperiods,thebasisandprioritiesoftheThirdRenaissanceofourstatehoodarethedevelopmentofscienceandmoderntechnologies,whichareintendedtobecomedriversofdramaticdevelopmentofthecountry’seconomy,aradicalimprovementinthewell-beingofthepeopleandtheprosperityofthenation.

Atthesametime,anewparadigmofrelationsbetweenthestateandtheindividualwasformedandisgraduallybeingintroduced,wherethehighestvalueisdeterminedbytheperson,hislife,freedom,honor,dignityandotherinalienablerights,andtheprincipleofthesupremacyofhumanrightsisproclaimed.

ThisphilosophywasreflectedinthedevelopmentstrategiesofNewUzbekistanadoptedduringthisperiod,wherethebasicprincipleofthestatewaslaid:“Everythingforthepeople,everythingforthebenefitofthepeople.”Onthebasisofthispostulate,themainguidelineforstatepolicyandgovernmentbodieswasdetermined:“Itisnotthepersonwhoservesthestate,butthestatethatservestheperson.”

Forthispurpose,thelegislativefoundationsofthesystemforensuringtheconstitutionalrightsofcitizens,formedatthedawnofindependence,werecompletelyrevised.

OneofthefirstinitiativesofthePresidenttheRepublicUzbekistanSh.M.MirziyoyevwastheideaoftheneedtoadoptanElectoralCodethatwouldensureconvenientusebycitizensoftheirvotingrights,enshrinedinnumerousanddisparateactsoflegislation.Asaresultofsystematizationandmodernizationof5basiclawsandmanyby-laws,departmentaldocumentsoftheCentralElectionCommissionoftheRepublicofUzbekistan,theElectoralCodeoftheRepublicofUzbekistanwasdevelopedandcameintoforceonJune26,2019.

OneoftheimportantpurposesandsignificanceoftheElectoralCodewastoconsolidate,firstly,ofthefollowingbasicprinciplesofelectoralrights,whicharefullyconsistentwithinternationalstandardsandthebestdemocraticpracticesofdevelopedcountries:theuniversalityoftherighttovote,equalsuffrage,directsuffrage,secretballotandfreedomofelections.

Secondly,thebasicprinciplesoftheelectoralsystemoftheRepublicofUzbekistan,includingopennessandtransparencyofelections. Anumberofotherimportantinnovationsoftheelectorallegislationshouldbehighlighted: -therulelimitingtheparticipationinelectionsofpersonsheldinprisonforcrimesthatdonotposeagreatpublicdangerandlessseriouscrimeshasbeenexcluded.Thisinnovationisasignificantstepinguaranteeingthevotingrightsofcitizens.Inaddition,theprovisiononcreatingconditionsforcitizenswithdisabilitiestoexercisetheirvotingrightsdeservesattention.

theintroductionofasingleelectroniclistofvotersoftheRepublicofUzbekistan,andtheintroductionofasingleballotpaperforvotingonelectionday; –

creationofthepossibilityofaffixingavoter’ssignatureinsupportofseveralcandidatesorpartiesduringthecollectionofsignaturesbypoliticalparties.

AnotherpriorityoftheconstitutionalreformwasstrengtheningtheroleoftheParliamentofUzbekistan-theLegislativeChamberandtheSenateoftheOliyMajlisoftheRepublicofUzbekistaninthesystemofstatepowerbyrevisingthemaintasksinthecontextoftheupdatedConstitution. Whatexactlydidthismean? First.Inordertoformaneffectiveparliament,optimizetheactivitiesoftheupperchamberbasedonitsmainpurpose-

regionalrepresentation,takingintoaccountthepreservationofauniqueplatformandeffectiveplatformforinteractionandcoordinationoftheactivitiesoftheKengashesofpeople’sdeputies,eliminatingparallelismintheactivitiesofthechambersoftheOliyMajlis,basedonthegoalsandobjectivesoftheadministrativeThereformsofNewUzbekistanmodernizedtheupperhouseofparliament-

theSenate,andstrengthenedthepowersofthelowerhouseofparliament-theLegislativeChamber. Ifinthe1992editionoftheConstitution5powerswereassignedtotheexclusivepowersoftheLegislativeChamber,theninaccordancewiththeneweditionoftheConstitutiontheirnumberreached12.ThenumberofexclusivepowersoftheSenateincreasedfromthecurrent14to18.

Second.ThenumberofmemberstheSenatehasbeenoptimizedfrom100to65,whowillbeelectedinequalnumbers,4peoplefromeachofthe14regionsatmeetingsofdeputiesoftheJokargyKenesandlocalKengashesfromamongthesedeputies,and9membersoftheSenatewillbedirectlyappointedbythePresident.

Inthere,foreignexperienceinformingthecompositionofrepresentativegovernmentbodieswastakenintoaccount.Thus,inforeigncountries,outof83bicameralparliaments,thenumberofmembersoftheupperhouseisupto49peoplein29countries,50–99peoplein31countries,100ormorein23countries.Forexample,intheSenateofKazakhstanthereare50members,inTajikistan-33,inBelarus-64.Thenumberofmemberstheupperchambersappointedbyheadsofstate:Italy-5,Belarus,Tajikistan-8,Kazakhstan-10,Ireland-11.

Third.ConsiderationandapprovalofthePrimeMinister’scandidacyisenshrinedastheexclusiveauthorityoftheLegislativeChamber.

WeintroducedthisinnovationtakingintoaccounttheparliamentarypracticeofGermany,theCzechRepublic,Russia,Belarus,Kazakhstan,etc.

ThecontrolpowersofparliamenthavebeenrevisedandredistributedbyexcludingcertainofitsformsfromthepowersoftheSenate(monitoringtheexecutionoftheStateBudget;hearingtheannualreportoftheCabinetofMinisters;hearingthereportofthePrimeMinisteronthesocio-economicdevelopmentofthecountry,etc.)withtheirconsolidationastheexclusivepowersoftheLegislativeChamber.

Fourth.Withthereductionofcontrolpowers,otherpowersoftheSenateweresimultaneouslyexpanded,incl.bytransferringtohimanumberofpowersofthePresident,aswellasstrengtheninghisroleincoordinatingtheactivitiesofrepresentativebodiesofgovernmentatthelocallevel,inparticular: –electionontherecommendationofthePresidentoftheSupremeJudicialCouncil,headsoftherepublicananti-corruptionbodyandtherepublicanantimonopolyauthority; –approvalofPresidentialdecreesontheformationandabolitionofministriesandotherrepublicanexecutivebodies,etc.

Atthesametime,theSenateisvestedwiththeauthoritytoperformthefunctionsofparliamentinadoptinglaws(withtheexceptionoftheConstitutionandconstitutionallaws)duringtheperiodoftemporaryabsenceoftheLegislativeChambercausedbytheearlyterminationofitspowers(dissolution).

ThecontrolfunctionoftheSenateovertheactivitiesofregulatory,lawenforcementandintelligenceagenciesarebeingstrengthened.Inparticular,aprocedureisbeingintroducedforthePresidenttoappointtheProsecutorGeneralandtheChairmanoftheAccountsChamberwiththeapprovaloftheSenate,andtheChairmanoftheStateSecurityService-afterconsultationswiththeSenate.

Fifth.Inordertofurtherimprovethesystemofchecksandbalancesinthemechanismofstatepower,thechambersoftheOliyMajlisaregiventhepowertodissolvethemselves,thedecisiononwhichismadeaccordinglybyamajorityofatleast2/3ofthevotesofthetotalnumberofdeputiesoftheLegislativeChamberormembersoftheSenate(Articles94and95). Atthesametime,itistakenintoaccountthatparliamentsalsohavetherighttoself-dissolveinanumberofforeigncountries,forexample,Israel,Bulgaria,Turkmenistan,etc.Insomecountries,parliamenthasthepowertodissolveitselfbasedonadecisionmadebyasimplemajority-inAustria,Croatia,Hungary,Turkey;qualifiedmajority–inBosniaandHerzegovina,Cyprus;byatwo-thirdsmajorityinKyrgyzstanandPoland;three-fifthsofthevotesof(elected)members–inLithuania.

Sixth.ThecontrolpowersofthechambersoftheOliyMajlisareexpanding,incl.bysecuringthepowertoconductaparliamentaryinquiry.Inparticular,theroleoftheOliyMajlisinthefightagainstcorruptionisbeingstrengthenedbyconsolidatingthepowersofthechambersofparliamenttoheartheannualNationalAnti-CorruptionReport.

TheUzbekistan-2030StrategyisalsoaimedatcreatinganewlookfortheparliamentofUzbekistan. Thus,indirectionIV“Ensuringtheruleoflaw,organizingpublicadministrationfocusedonservingthepeople”,inparagraph4.1.“Reformstoorganizepublicadministrationfocusedonservingthepeopleandimprovepublicadministration”provideforafurtherincreaseintheroleoftheOliyMajlisandpoliticalpartiesintheconstructionoftheNewUzbekistan.Attheinitialstagesitisplanned:

firstly,toensurethedigitaltransformationoftheworkprocessesofparliamentanditsbodies,including100%digitalizationoftheprocessesofmakingandpromulgatingdecisions;

secondly,toensurethepossibilityofelectroniccommunicationwithvoters,sendingandmonitoringdeputyrequestsinelectronicform; thirdly,introduceaprocedureforsubmittingandconsideringproposalsforlegislation; fourthly,introduceamixed(majority-

proportional)systemofelectionstorepresentativebodiesinordertofurtherincreasetheroleofpoliticalpartiesintheprocessofdeepeningdemocraticreformsandmodernizingthecountry. ThelastmeasureisenshrinedintheElectoralCodeoftheRepublicofUzbekistan. Atthesametime,weareclearlyawareofthepossibilitiesforfurtherimprovementofparliamentaryactivities,especiallyintermsofstrengtheningparliamentarycontrol.

Thus,weseeoneofthetasksinthisareaasthedevelopmentandlegislativeconsolidationofclearandclearproceduresfortheimplementationofallformsofparliamentarycontrolformembersofParliament.Here,themainexpectationisconnected,firstofall,withtheinstitutionofparliamentaryinvestigation,whichcanbecomeaneffectivetoolinthecaseofthedevelopmentandlegislativeconsolidationofclearandcleargroundsforparliamentarydeputiestoconductaparliamentaryinvestigation,adetailedprocedureandprocedureforitsconduct,whichinforeignpracticeresembletheprocedureofcriminalprosecution.

Anothertaskofthenewparliamentshouldbetofurtherstrengthenandstrengthenparliamentaryfinancialcontrol. Hereweexpectthattheparliamentwillnotonlyapprovethemainparametersofthestatebudget,butalso: -activelyparticipateintheformationofthedraftstatebudgetbeforeitssubmissiontothecountry’sparliament; -havetheopportunitytomakeallnecessary,fromthepointofviewoftheelectorate,changesandadditionstotheparametersofthestatebudget; –

carryoutsystematicmonitoringandcontrolovertheefficiencyofspendingbudgetfunds(withthedeterminationofspecificperformanceindicators,onthebasisofwhichitcouldmakeappropriateadjustments)withtherighttosuspendandreducefundingforineffectiveprojects.

Ofcourse,thesolutiontotheseandotherpressingissuesrelatedtotheformationofanewlookforthecountry’sparliamentwillensurethefurtherdevelopmentofmodernparliamentarismintheRepublicofUzbekistan,strengthentheroleandplaceofparliamentinthesystemofstatepowerandadministrationinordertoachievesuchastrategicgoalofstatebuildingastheconstructionofademocraticlegalstates.