Antonio Alonso Marcos
Professor of International Relations / San Pablo CEU University
Last April 30, Uzbek citizens massively supported the reform of their Constitution. This reform is significant, among other things, because it modifies the text of its Basic Law by 65%, increasing it from 128 to 155 articles.
According to Zayniddin Nizamkhojaev, Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission, the turnout reached 84.54%, of which 90.21% voted in favor of the amendments, while 9.35% voted against. This was not a typical electoral contest, with competition between parties. On this occasion, no party was in favor of NO to the reform, mainly because the reform process has lasted a little over a year and everyone has had the opportunity to propose modifications. In total, the commission in charge of studying the suggestions had to study in depth some 220,000 proposals, since not only did the political parties have a voice throughout this process, but also a web portal was set up to give a hearing to any citizen.
Almost 400 international observers, from some 45 countries and 14 international organizations, have ensured the cleanliness and transparency of the voting day. No queues, no crowds, a constant trickle of people, in an atmosphere of tranquility and serenity, with some festive note -it is customary in Central Asia to give a special gift to the youngest and the oldest of the census-.
The result is that the rights protected have been increased, from 275 to 434. Among them, special emphasis has been placed on protecting families and their homes – they are guaranteed a decent place to live – also encouraging respect for traditions while guaranteeing religious freedom, and certain guarantees are given to detainees. Anyone who has studied the history of the development of human rights knows that these are the basic pillars of human rights – the right to life, freedom of conscience, freedom of expression – from which all others are derived. In the last decade, Uzbekistan has done a great work in this sense, internationally recognized, so that both the USA and the EU have publicly applauded the progress made in such fields.
One aspect that has been emphasized by the President himself in recent months is the commitment to a change in the model of the legal system, moving from a “State-society-person” scheme to a “person-society-State” scheme. Gradually, we are moving from the Soviet scheme, where the State was predominant and the individual counted for nothing, to a very different one that focuses on the origin of individuals, aware that individual effort must push the whole society in the same direction and that the State must be at the service of both, to protect them, to guarantee an environment of peace and stability – internally and with the surrounding countries.
In an eminently young society (almost 80% of the population is under 35 years of age, 35% of whom are under 14 years of age), this stability depends on offering them sufficiently adequate training – university and professional – to enable them to develop in all aspects – personal, family and professional. Young people, with increasing access to the Internet, social networks and the outside world, will not be satisfied with empty promises or grandiloquent phrases, or they will throw themselves into the arms of despair. Families and associations will play an essential role here, in addition to the mahalla – the socio-cultural center that is at the heart of neighborhood life – which in this reform has seen its responsibility in the management of municipal affairs increased.
The institutional system has also undergone a profound change, as the presidential term of office has been increased from 5 to 7 years, the number of senators has been reduced, the legislative chambers have better divided their work -avoiding and eliminating duplicities-, and the Government will now be subject to greater scrutiny by the Lower House -thereby giving more power to the parties represented there-.
Undoubtedly, the majority support of the population in this referendum shows the popular support of the Uzbek people for the path of reforms embarked upon by Shavkat Mirziyoyev just 6 years ago. This was also recognized by UN Secretary-General António Guterres when he stated that “under the leadership of the President of Uzbekistan, the country is contributing to international efforts related to climate change, environmental protection and regional connectivity, while undertaking a major reform process.”
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