2019–20 Uzbek parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Uzbekistan on 22 December 2019, with a second round in 25 of the 150 constituencies on 5 January 2020.[1] They were the first elections to be held after the death of Islam Karimov in 2016.[2] The ruling Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party remained the largest party in the Legislative Chamber, winning 53 of the 150 seats. All five parties contesting the elections were regarded as loyal to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.[3]

2019–20 Uzbek parliamentary election

22 December 2019 (first round) 5 January 2020 (second round)
150 seats in the Legislative Chamber 76 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	71.1% (first round) 62.8% (second round)
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Aktam Haitov Alisher Kadyrov Narimon Umarov Party Liberal Democratic Milliy Tiklanish Adolat Leader since 3 August 2018 22 May 2019 7 June 2013 Last election 52 36 20 Seats won 53 36 24 Seat change 1 4   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Ulugʻbek Inoyatov Boriy Alixonov Party PDPU Ecological Party Leader since 1 June 2019 8 January 2019 Last election 27 15 Seats won 22 15 Seat change 5
Speaker before election Nurdinjon Ismoilov PDPU Elected Speaker Nurdinjon Ismoilov PDPU

Electoral system

The 150 members of the Legislative Chamber were elected from single member constituencies using the two-round system. A second round was also held in constituencies where voter turnout was less than 33%.[4]

With the adoption of a new electoral code in June 2019,[5] this was the first election in which all seats in the Legislative Chamber were directly elected; previously fifteen seats had been reserved for the Ecological Movement.[6] Other reforms included a new requirement that all candidates be nominated by a political party, and a minimum quota of 30% of female candidates for each party.[7]

Campaign

A total of 750 candidates contested the 150 seats, representing five parties viewed as loyal to the president.[8] An official debate between party leaders was held for the first time.[9] Opposition parties were banned, including the Erk Democratic Party, whose leader Muhammad Salih remained in exile.[3] However, after the first round of voting, President Mirziyoyev and the Chairman of the Central Election Commission made rare public acknowledgements of the existence of opposition parties, and raised the possibility that they would be allowed to participate in future elections.[10][11] These statements were made amidst an outbreak of protests over shortages and high prices during the campaign period,[12][13][14][15][16][17] and the increased use of social media to discuss politics in the country.[18][19]

In the second round, the 50 candidates contesting the 25 remaining seats included 15 from the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party, 11 from the Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party, 10 from the Justice Social Democratic Party, 9 from the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan and five from the Ecological Party.[20]

Results

Party		First round			Second round			Total seats	+/–
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party			42			11	53	+1
	Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party			34			2	36	0
	Justice Social Democratic Party			20			4	24	+4
	People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan			18			4	22	–5
	Ecological Party of Uzbekistan			11			4	15	0
Total		13,963,627	100	125	1,978,048	100	25	150	0
Registered voters/turnout		18,797,810	74.3	–	3,147,921	62.8	–	–	–
Source: CEC, CEC, CEC

References

1. Uzbekistan elects new parliament with no opposition The Washington Post, 23 December 2019
2. Uzbekistan holds parliamentary elections lacking opposition Al Jazeera, 22 December 2019
3. Questions over Uzbekistan's new era of 'openness' BBC News, 20 December 2019
4. Republic of Uzbekistan: Election for Qonunchilik Palatasi (Uzbekistani Legislative Chamber) IFES
5. "Electoral Code Entered Into Force". Gazeta.uz. 26 June 2019. (in Russian)
6. "A new party created in Uzbekistan". Podrobno.uz. 8 January 2019. (in Russian)
7. "Parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan will be held taking into account international requirements - CEC head". Uzbekistan Central Election Commission. 21 October 2019. (in Russian)
8. Uzbekistan - Legislative Chamber IPU
9. "Демократик Дебат ( 10.11.2019 ) Сайлов 2019". YouTube. 17 November 2019.
10. "I am not against the opposition, but it should be formed here - President". Gazeta.uz. 27 December 2019. (in Russian)
11. "CEC Chairman: If Erk and Birlik return and register, other parties may appear". RFE/RL. 23 December 2019. (in Uzbek)
12. "Outraged by lack of gas, residents set fire to tires near Nukus". Fergana. 28 November 2019. (in Russian)
13. "In Andijan, residents blocked the road in protest of gas and electricity shortages". RFE/RL. 30 November 2019. (in Uzbek)
14. "Near Ferghana, protesters blocked the highway due to lack of light and gas". Fergana. 1 December 2019. (in Russian)
15. "Protesters blocked gas supplies in Ellikkala". RFE/RL. 2 December 2019. (in Uzbek)
16. "The women were dissatisfied with gas shortages in Khorezm". RFE/RL. 9 December 2019. (in Uzbek)
17. "2019 Results: Gas and electricity are also scarce this year. But the population began to protest". RFE/RL. 25 December 2019. (in Uzbek)
18. "Shavkat Mirziyoyev talks about the opposition". UPL. 28 December 2019. (in Russian)
19. "A Year in Review: Uzbekistan Continues to Open Up at Home and to the World". The Jamestown Foundation. 15 January 2020.
20. Об очередном заседании Центральной избирательной комиссии CEC