Photo: uza.uz
On July 30, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan signed a law expanding the guaranteed rights of the parliamentary opposition, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Under the new legislation, any party faction that officially declares itself an opposition group is granted several new powers. These include the right to hold one committee chairmanship and two deputy chair positions in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (the lower house of parliament). Opposition lawmakers are also now entitled to propose alternative versions of draft laws and specific provisions up to the second reading in parliament.
In addition, the opposition can now raise issues for discussion during the government’s quarterly Q&A sessions and regularly submit formal parliamentary inquiries to the executive branch.
Existing legislation already guarantees parliamentary opposition factions the right to:
✅ Submit alternative versions of draft laws along with the responsible committee’s report on the matter;
✅ Have their dissenting opinions officially recorded in the minutes of parliamentary plenary sessions;
✅ Ensure their participation in conciliation commissions for laws rejected by the Senate.
President Mirziyoyev first stressed the importance of having an opposition in parliament in November 2024. In May 2025, members of the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan and the “Milliy Tiklanish” Democratic Party (“National Revival”) formed a joint “Progressive Bloc.” With 93 deputies, it now constitutes a parliamentary majority. Following this, the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan declared itself the parliamentary opposition, stating that it does not fully agree with the government’s direction or certain aspects of its policy agenda.
