Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Photo: press service of the President of Uzbekistan
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, speaking at the first session of the newly elected Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (parliament), stated that it is necessary to revive the opposition in parliament. The head of state's words were reported by his press secretary Sherzod Asadov.
In this regard, the president proposed to increase the number of guaranteed rights for the opposition from three to six, as well as to give representatives of such parties one position of committee chairman in the lower house and two deputy positions in parliamentary committees.
Mirziyoyev noted that if healthy competition and the clash of opposing views move from elections into the walls of the Legislative Chamber, it will undoubtedly serve to develop laws in the interests of the people.
«In the past elections, the programs and ideas of political parties differed from each other, and the struggle of different political ideologies was clearly visible,» added the head of the republic.
According to Mirziyoyev, in the new era, the parliament should become a true people's house, and its lower chamber should be a generator of ideas, a field of healthy competition, debates, and discussions.
The President also outlined priority areas for future bills:
👉 Strengthening the mandatory health insurance system;
👉 Supporting investors planning to build a school or kindergarten;
👉 Creating legal foundations for fintech, startups, and franchising;
👉 Regulating artificial intelligence;
👉 Implementing market mechanisms in the energy sector.
The head of state emphasized that the lower house of parliament has been renewed by 60% compared to the previous convocation, with 63 deputies re-elected and 87 new ones. Eleven of them are under 35 years old. Moreover, 38% of the deputies are women, which is the highest rate in Central Asian countries. Also, for the first time in history, a citizen with a disability received a mandate.
The speaker of the Legislative Chamber was approved at the meeting. Nuriddin (Nurdinjon) Ismoilov, who has been serving as chairman since 2015, retained this position. According to changes in the regulations, instead of seven deputy speakers, only two are elected. They are representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party, Mavluda Khodjaeva and Rakhimjon Khakimov. It is noted that for the period of their powers, the vice-speakers terminate their membership in political associations and cannot be part of their faction in parliament.
Last week, the composition of the Senate — the upper house of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan — was formed. As now four people are elected from each region instead of six, the total number of senators has decreased from 100 to 65.
In addition to politicians represented by the regions, nine more were appointed by the president. Six of them had already worked in the Senate of the previous convocation, including the youngest senator — 30-year-old Alisher Sadullaev.
Overall, according to the Central Election Commission of the republic, 56.6% of the members of the upper house of parliament are citizens over 60 years old, 41.6% are from 40 to 60 years old. Traditionally, the Senate includes the chairman of the Jokargy Kenes of Karakalpakstan (a sovereign republic within Uzbekistan), hokims (heads of administrations) of regions and the city of Tashkent.
