Uzbekistan vote locks in liberal reform agenda for another term

The weekend poll marked the first time in Uzbekistan that a legislative election was conducted using a hybrid model similar to that of Germany, in which half of the 150 seats are selected by constituency "first past the post." The other half of the seats are selected proportionally via national party lists, for which all of the participating parties crossed the 7% threshold.

At a conference last week, Senator Sodyq Safoyev, a former foreign minister and now deputy chairman of Uzbekistan's upper chamber, put this change into context and drew a direct line between electoral reforms and accountability, echoing the sentiment that has become a landmark of Mirzoyoyev's tenure: public administration serves the public, and not the other way around. "The electoral law has changed and for the first time we have a mixed proportional and majoritarian system. This means that political parties will need to define more clearly their stands, their faiths, their slogans, and to find a way to the hearts and minds on their constituents. It will be crucial to create trust between public and government, and only free and fair elections can do that."

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