The results of the 2024 parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan and the modernization of electoral processes

Stroikov Sergei Petrovich Postgraduate Student; Department of Comparative Political Science; Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6, Moscow, 117198, Russia a_a_chernenko@mail.ru

Parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan play an important role in shaping State power and reflect the dynamics of political and social transformations. Since gaining independence in 1991, the country has gone through several stages of reforms of the electoral system and the institution of parliament. This article examines the main aspects of the parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan, including legislative reforms, political competition, and the impact of elections on public administration.

The pro—presidential UzLiDeP party won 64 out of 150 seats (42.7%), Milliy Tiklanish — 29 seats (19.3%), Adolat — 21 seats (14%), NDPU — 20 seats (13%) and Ecopartia - 16 seats (10.7%).

The main innovation of the last campaign was the transition to a mixed electoral system (MIS). The mixed electoral system combines majority and proportional representation, which promotes a balance between the personal responsibility of deputies and the proportionality of party representation.

The elections were held in conditions of special attention to the issues of inclusivity — the involvement of women and ethnic minorities in the legislative and political process. At the same time, a reform of the ballot format was carried out to reduce government spending and optimize funds during election campaigns. For the first time, electronic voting was tested as part of an experiment.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the specifics of the parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan in 2024 in the context of ongoing political reforms and democratization of the country, with an emphasis on assessing the effectiveness of the new mixed electoral system, the level of political competition, civic participation and transparency of the electoral process.

Review of current research

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan adopted a Constitution that defined the separation of powers and the structure of the parliament — the Oliy Majlis (Tursunov 2021)^[1]. The Parliament has two chambers: the Legislative Chamber and the Senate. The members of the Senate are elected from among the local councils and appointed by the President, which retains significant influence of the executive branch (Karimov 2011)^[2].

The features of Central Asia are highlighted in the work of [Garbuzarova 2024: 483]^[3], Uzbekistan in the articles of [Ionova 2021: 100]^[4].

The change in the electoral system of the state is designed to solve the problems faced by the political system as a whole. The most significant reason is the lack of confidence in the current electoral system and the low level of popularity among voters.

In Britain, the reforms were seen as a way to improve proportionality and keep MPs connected to voters. (Dunleavy, Margetts 1999)^[5]. In Italy, Japan, and New Zealand, the reforms of the early 1990s were caused by systemic failures and changes in party competition (Sakamoto 1999)^[6]. In Canada, discussions on the transition to an ICU were conducted to reduce distortions of representation and strengthen the trust of citizens (Cyr 2016)^[7].

Among the reasons for the reforms is the strengthening of the party's role in political decision-making. The expected effects of reforms do not always coincide with the actual results. In Italy, the transition to a mixed system in 1993 helped to reduce polarization and the turnover of power, but did not achieve all the stated goals of reducing party fragmentation (Katz 2006)^[8].

In the Nordic countries, the introduction of the ICU could lead to the dominance of large parties and the need to block small parties with large allies (Lundell 2008)^[9].

Stability and coalition governments may be another reason for electoral reform. Separately, one can single out the desire to change the strategies of parties in elections in order to change the ratio of funds spent and the level of campaigning in majority and proportional systems. In Germany, candidates who are elected in single-member constituencies have a higher chance of re-election than candidates on party lists (Manow 2007)^[10].

There are examples where the electoral system is being reformed to establish stricter discipline within the legislature. Deputies elected in majority districts are more likely to deviate from the party line compared to deputies from the lists. (Sieberer, 2010).

The change of the electoral system to a mixed one has the potential to achieve a balance between proportionality and the responsibility of deputies to voters. However, the results depend on the specific design of the system and the political context. The experience of various countries shows that the transition to a mixed system requires consideration of party dynamics and mechanisms to ensure the stability of the government.

Elections in new conditions

Elections to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan were held on October 27, 2024. 150 deputies of the lower house of Parliament were elected. The election campaign took place in new conditions, and for the first time in the country's history, a mixed electoral system was used. As part of this innovation, 75 deputies were elected according to the proportional system, and the other 75 according to the majority system. There is a 7% barrier in the republic that parties need to overcome in order to enter parliament. All the parties that participated in the elections overcame it. In order for the elections to be recognized as having taken place, it is necessary to achieve a turnout of 33%.

According to official data from the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the turnout in the elections was 74.72% of voters [CEC of the Republic of Uzbekistan 2024]^[11]. The distribution of 75 seats in a single electoral district among the parties is shown in Table No. 1.

Table 1 - Official results of the 2024 parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan based on data from the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the proportional system

After the preliminary allocation of seats, 2 mandates remained vacant, they were redistributed to the parties with the largest remainder after dividing by the electoral coefficient. The latter is calculated as follows: the total number of votes is divided into 75 seats. During these elections, the calculations turned out as follows: 14,946,171 votes are divided into 75 seats and 199,282 are obtained — the electoral coefficient. The pro—presidential "Movement of Entrepreneurs and Business People - Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan" (UzLiDeP) won the most seats with 26 seats. The least of all is the Environmental Party with 10 seats.

The parties showed similar results in single-mandate constituencies. The UzLiDeP party has the most — 38, the Ecopart has the least — 6. The full results are presented in Table No.2. UzLiDeP won 64 out of 150 seats, Milliy Tiklanish 29, Adolat 21, PDPU 20, Ecopartia 16.

Table 2 - Official results of the 2024 parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan based on data from the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the majority system

The Lower House has been updated by about 60%. Almost 43% of deputies managed to be re—elected, in the last convocation this figure was less - only 27%.

The results of the 2024 elections showed significant progress in democratizing the electoral process. However, in order to increase political competition, it is necessary to further develop support mechanisms for opposition parties and independent candidates.

According to the OSCE report, Uzbek legislation does not provide for civilian election monitoring by internal political forces, which violates international transparency standards [OSCE 2024]^[12]. The monitoring was carried out by international organizations, political parties and accredited media. International observers reported violations on election day, including cases of multiple voting and insufficient measures to verify the eligibility of voters.

Democratisation of the electoral process

The formation of the electoral system in 1991-2005 was the first stage of reforms. After the adoption of the Constitution in 1992, a bicameral parliament was created — the Oliy Majlis, consisting of the Legislative Chamber and the Senate (Karimov 2011)^[13]. The first parliamentary elections were held on the basis of a majority system, while opposition parties were excluded from participating in the elections, which reduced the level of political competition (Borisov 2008)^[14].

The next stage falls on 2005-2016, when parliamentary control is being strengthened. The reforms of this period were aimed at strengthening the role of parliament in the system of state power. A mechanism of parliamentary control over the activities of the executive branch was introduced, as well as the powers of the Senate were expanded (Hakimov 2016)^[15].

Since 2016, the period of the "New Uzbekistan" begins with the coming to power of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Under his leadership, a new stage of reforms began aimed at liberalizing the political system and increasing election transparency (Avatkov, Rozhkova 2023)^[16]. In 2019, a new Electoral Code was adopted, combining previously existing legislative acts and establishing uniform rules for all levels of elections (Muhamedovna 2019)^[17]. The reform of the electoral system is still ongoing. The key change was the transition to a mixed system. Despite the reforms, political competition remains limited. The majority of registered parties adhere to a pro-presidential line, and independent candidates have limited access to elections (Borisov 2008)^[18].

New technologies were introduced to increase election transparency, including electronic voter lists and online election monitoring (Tursunov, Valiev 2021)^[19]. Political parties have gained more opportunities to participate in election campaigns and form electoral coalitions. However, opposition forces still face restrictions on registration and access to the media. The role of international observers, such as the OSCE, has increased to ensure transparency and fairness of elections (Karimov 2023)^[20].

Inclusivity in elections

In addition to democratizing the electoral process and introducing technical changes, Uzbekistan pays special attention to the role of women in the political process. According to the law, 40% of party candidates must be women. In 2019, 48 women deputies were elected, or 32% of the total [Dynyo 2024]^[21]. In the 2024 elections, half of all candidates were women — almost 45%. According to the results of the last electoral cycle, a new record was set among women deputies - 38%, which was the largest number in the history of the Uzbek parliament [Gazeta UZ 2024]^[22].

Despite this, women remain underrepresented in leadership positions. Only 2 of the 27 ministers and 4 of the 12 members of the Supreme Judicial Council are women [GOV UZ 2024]^[23].

The ethnic composition of the Parliament became a separate topic. During the campaign, the Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan repeatedly emphasized the role of ethnic minorities who registered as candidates for the elections. Among the named ethnic groups, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Turkmens, Kyrgyz, and Russians were singled out separately [CEC RUZ 2024]^[24]. The trend towards inclusivity has affected people with disabilities, and 3 representatives of this group have joined the new convocation.

Technical changes

A new form of ballots has been introduced in Uzbekistan as part of the 2024 parliamentary elections. The ballots have become more compact and vary in color for each election level. These changes were aimed at optimizing vote counting and reducing election costs. It is assumed that the innovation will save at least 3 billion soums on printing ballots and reduce the time of counting votes by an hour, reducing the burden on election commissions (Gazeta UZ 2024)^[25].

Research shows that changing the shape and design of ballots can affect electoral behavior and the effectiveness of the electoral process.:

• Improved convenience for voters: Compact and colored ballots can reduce the level of voting errors and facilitate the process of selecting candidates (Herrnson 2012)^[26].
• Reduced counting time: Optimizing ballots reduces the processing time of results, which can increase confidence in election transparency.
• Saving resources: Reducing the cost of printing and logistics of ballots reduces government spending on election campaigns (Gazeta UZ 2024)^[27].

The introduction of new ballots in Uzbekistan demonstrates the desire to improve the effectiveness of elections through technological and organizational reforms. These measures can help to increase citizens' confidence in the electoral system and improve the administrative voting process.

Another technical innovation was the experiment on electronic voting. The digitalization of the voting process affected 10 polling stations, where citizens could choose the method of voting, traditionally using a paper ballot or through an electronic voting system at the polling station.

Campaigning

Due to the low level of competition in the last election, the candidates' campaigning opportunities were limited. A month before the election, representatives of all participating parties signed the ethical rules for campaigning [Gazeta UZ 2024]^[28]. Among the innovations was a ban on the use of fake news, artificial intelligence to create video and audio content for negative, critical campaigning against opponents.

The article [Peters 2009] indicates that ethical restrictions on the behavior of candidates are necessary to maintain the level of public confidence in the electoral system and can reduce the polarization of society^[29]. However, strict ethical standards sometimes reduce the level of transparency and accountability to voters. In the case of Uzbekistan, restrictions on any criticism of opponents reduce interest in the elections as a whole. And although manipulation and lies in elections reduce confidence in them among voters [Rowbottom 2012]^[30], the 2024 election campaign was not characterized by polarization within society in order to impose such restrictions voluntarily. As a result of such self-censorship, voters do not see the difference between parties and candidates, and their knowledge of them will be insufficient. The candidates avoided criticizing each other and the parties, which reduces the level of confidence in the elections.

The introduction of a mixed electoral system is traditionally seen as a mechanism to increase the competitiveness and attractiveness of elections, contributing to a more equitable distribution of responsibility between parties and independent candidates. However, this effect was not achieved in the parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan in 2024.

Among the most common methods of campaigning were outdoor campaigning in the form of banners and posters in crowded places, as well as advertising on television, the Internet and social networks. Individual candidates campaigned publicly and organized meetings with voters in a closed format. Most often these were meetings with activists and supporters of the party. Voters were mobilized to meetings by the makhalla committees, the local self—government bodies of Uzbekistan.

The published party programs touched on similar topics, and only in some cases did candidates address specific local issues. It also reduced the interest of voters in campaigning and elections in general.

The pre-election debates, organized by five private TV channels and, for the first time, a news portal, became a positive aspect. Kun.uz . However, the broadcast time (17:00) limited the potential audience.

The ODIHR mission pointed to a lack of transparency and ineffective oversight of election campaign financing. The main challenges include:

• Prohibition on private donations: Campaigning is funded exclusively from the state budget for registered parties, which limits the possibilities for alternative sources of support and hinders the development of political pluralism.
• Lack of transparency: The regulatory framework in the field of financing does not provide transparent control and public oversight, which contradicts international standards.

Conclusions

The parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan in 2024 demonstrated significant progress in democratizing the country's electoral process. The introduction of a mixed electoral system has made it possible to achieve a greater balance between proportional representation of political parties and the personal responsibility of deputies to voters. The reform of ballots and the introduction of electronic voting have become important technical innovations aimed at improving the efficiency and transparency of the electoral process.

Despite the positive changes, the elections revealed a number of problematic aspects. Restrictions on civilian surveillance, insufficient independence of opposition parties, and low levels of competition remain key challenges to further strengthening democratic institutions. The existing ethical standards and campaign restrictions require revision in order to increase interest in elections and transparency of the political struggle.

The achievements of recent reforms indicate Uzbekistan's intention to continue moving towards democratization. For the further development of the electoral system, measures are needed to expand political competition, strengthen the independence of oversight mechanisms, and actively involve citizens in the electoral process. Efforts in these areas can strengthen citizens' trust in democratic institutions and improve the quality of public administration in the country.