GOVERNMENT
The constitution of Uzbekistan provides for separation of powers, freedom of speech, and representative government. In reality, the executive holds almost all power. The judiciary lacks independence, and the legislature--which meets only a few days each year--has little power to shape laws. The president selects and replaces provincial governors. Islam Karimov, former First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Uzbek SSR Communist Party, was elected to a five-year presidential term in December 1991 with 88% of the vote. In a December 1995 referendum, his term was extended to 2000. President Karimov was re-elected in January 2000 with 91.9% of the vote. In a January 2002 referendum, the term of the presidency was extended from five years to seven. President Karimov was re-elected in December 2007. None of these elections or referenda were deemed free or fair.
The 2002 referendum also included a plan to create a bicameral parliament.
Parliamentary elections in December 2004 likewise were neither free nor fair,
and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) limited
observation mission concluded that the elections fell significantly short of
OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections.
Uzbekistan has battled a low-intensity insurgency since the late 1990s. Early
this decade, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) launched a number of
small, cross-border raids. The IMU in summer 2001 allied itself with the Taliban
government in Afghanistan, where most of its troops were then based, and
subsequently engaged U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Terrorist bombings, blamed on the IMU and splinter groups, have occurred sporadically, including multiple, simultaneous attacks in Tashkent in 1998 that destroyed a portion of the Ministry of Interior headquarters and narrowly missed President Karimov. Death estimates in those attacks and in subsequent shootouts in Tashkent with alleged bombers range as high as 200. The official government death tally was sixteen. In March and April 2004, suicide bombers struck the U.S. and Israeli Embassies in Tashkent and also detonated devices in the city of Bukhara. In May 2005, armed gunman in the city of Andijon attacked a police station, seized weapons and then stormed a prison, freeing members of a local Islamic organization accused by the government of extremism. In events whose details remain unclear, the attackers then gathered in Andijon's main square. Thousands of local residents also gathered in the square. Shooting erupted between government forces and the insurgents, and a large but undetermined number of individuals were killed. The Government of Uzbekistan, which put the death toll at 187, refused to heed European and U.S. calls for an independent international investigation. The Uzbek authorities may have conducted internal investigations and taken disciplinary measures, but have refused to provide any information to the international community. Unofficial death toll estimates range as high as 700 to 800.
Human
Rights
Uzbekistan has no meaningful political opposition. Five compliant political parties hold all seats in the parliament, and independent political parties have been effectively suppressed since the early 1990s. Multiple independent and governmental media outlets (radio, TV, newspaper) exist. Self-censorship is the norm. Editors and journalists who have broached politically sensitive topics have routinely experienced repercussions, including loss of employment.
Since 1991, many prominent opponents of the government have fled, and others
have been arrested. The government severely represses those it suspects of
Islamic extremism, including those suspected of any affiliation to organizations
such as the banned extremist Party of Islamic Liberation (Hizb ut-Tahrir).
Thousands of suspected extremists have been incarcerated since 1992, and arrests
continue. The exact number remaining in custody is unknown but may be several
thousand. A large number of prisoners have died in custody, many from disease
and other poor conditions and others from mistreatment and abuse. Political
prisoners and suspected extremists are allegedly treated worse than ordinary
prisoners.
The police force and the intelligence service have used torture as a routine investigation technique. In May 2003, following the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Government of Uzbekistan drafted an action plan to implement the Rapporteur's recommendations. The government began enacting a number of the plan's provisions but has since ceased cooperating with international organizations involved in prison reform. Prison conditions and the prevalence of torture today therefore are not clear but are widely believed to remain problematic.
Principal
Government Officials
President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers--Islam Karimov
Prime Minister-Shavkat Mirziyaev
Ambassador to the United States--Abdulaziz Kamilov
Ambassador to the United Nations--Alisher Vohidov
The
Republic of Uzbekistan maintains an embassy
at 1746 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel.: (202)
887-5300; fax (202) 293-6804. Its consulate and mission to the
UN in New York are located at 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite
326/327a, New York, NY 10017. Consulate tel.: (212) 754-7403;
fax: (212) 486-7998.
Type: Republic.
Independence: September 1, 1991.
Constitution: December 8, 1992.
Branches: Executive--president, prime minister, cabinet. Legislative--bicameral Supreme Assembly or Oliy Majlis consists of an Upper House or Senate (100 seats; 84 members are elected by regional governing councils to serve five-year terms and 16 are appointed by the president) and a Lower House or Legislative Chamber (120 seats; elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms). Judiciary--Supreme Court, constitutional court, economic court.
Administrative subdivisions (viloyatlar): 12, plus autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan and city of Tashkent.
Political parties and leaders: Adolat (Justice) Social Democratic Party--established February 18, 1995 in Tashkent, number of seats in parliament 11, Turgunpulat DAMINOV, first secretary; Democratic National Rebirth Party (Milly Tiklanish Democratic Partiya) or MTP--established on June 3, 1995 in Tashkent, number of seats in parliament 10, Ibrohim GOFUROV, chairman; Fatherland Progress Party (Vatan Tarakiyoti) or VTP--in April 2000, VTP merged with the National Democratic Party "Fidokorlar" (Fidokorlar Milliy Democratic Partiya), in Tashkent, number of seats in the parliament 62, Ahtam TURSUNOV, first secretary; People's Democratic Party or PDPU (Uzbekiston Halq Democratic Partiya, formerly Communist Party)--established November 1, 1991 in Tashkent, number of seats in parliament 50, Asliddin RUSTAMOV, first secretary; Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan--established December 3, 2003, Kobiljon TOSHMATOV, chairman. Other political or pressure groups and leaders: Birlik (Unity) Movement--Abdurakhim PULATOV, chairman; Erk (Freedom) Democratic Party--Mohammed SOLIH, chairman (banned Dec. 1992); party of Agrarians and Entrepreneurs of Uzbekistan--Marat ZAHIDOV, chairman; Ozod Dekkon (Free Farmers) Party--Nigara KHIDOYATOVA, general secretary; Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan--Abdumannob PULATOV, chairman; Independent Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan--Mikhail ARDZINOV, chairman; Ezgulik--Vasilya INOYATOVA, chairwoman.
Suffrage: Universal at age 18, unless imprisoned or certified as insane.
Defense: Military manpower--males age 18-49 fit for military service: 4,609,621 (2005 est.), females age 18-49 fit for military service: 5,383,233 (2005 est.); universal 18-month military service for men.
