The political framework of Uzbekistan

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders: President: Shavkat Mirziyoev (since 8 September 2016)
Prime Minister: Abdulla Aripov (since 14 December 2016)
Next Election Dates: Presidential: March 2030
Senate: November 2029
Legislative Chamber: October 2029
Main Political Parties: The government suppresses all political opposition, and there are no recognised opposition parties. The four political parties represented in the 150-seat Legislative Chamber are all supportive of the current leadership:

- Liberal Democratic Party: catch-all party, populist, authoritarian, third way
- National Revival Democratic Party: centre-right, nationalist, pro-modernisation
- Justice Social Democratic Party: centre-left, social democrat, secular, third way
- People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan: departure of the former Communist part, nationalist, authoritarian
- Ecological Party of Uzbekistan: green party
Birlik (Unity), Erk (Freedom), and Birdamlik (People's Democratic Movement) are opposition groups that promote democratic reforms but are not legally registered and are effectively banned from political participation in Uzbekistan.
Executive Power: The President of Uzbekistan is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, holding the majority of executive powers. Following the 2023 constitutional referendum, the presidential term was extended from five to seven years, and while term limits remain in place, the reforms effectively reset the count, allowing the current President to seek additional terms. The President appoints and can dismiss the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, and provincial governors, with parliamentary confirmation required for some appointments. The Prime Minister serves as the head of government, manages the Cabinet’s operations, and oversees economic policy, but operates under the authority of the President.
Legislative Power: Uzbekistan has a bicameral legislature known as the Supreme Assembly (Oliy Majlis), composed of the Senate (upper house) and the Legislative Chamber (lower house). The Senate consists of 100 members: 84 are elected by regional and district councils for five-year terms, while 16 are appointed by the President. The Legislative Chamber has 150 members, all elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. Although the parliament is formally vested with legislative authority, it holds limited power in practice. The President and the executive branch exercise overwhelming influence over the legislative process, and the President retains the authority to dissolve the legislature. The Parliament convenes only for brief sessions each year and plays a minimal role in shaping national policy. Political rights and civil liberties in Uzbekistan remain highly restricted.

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:: 157/180

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:: Not Free
Political Freedom:: 7/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

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