Uzbekistan Government and Politics

Following the 1992 Constitution, amended in 2002, Uzbekistan is a secular, democratic, unified state and presidential republic. According to AllCityCodes.com, the head of state, the president, is elected to the general elections for seven years and cannot sit for more than two consecutive terms. He appoints the Prime Minister and the Government, but formally the appointments must be approved by the Supreme Assembly. The government is accountable to the president. Also see AbbreviationFinder for abbreviation of UZ and its meanings of Uzbekistan. The president is a military commander. Legislative authority has been added to a parliament with two chambers. House of Representatives (Oliy Majlis)is elected in the general election for five years and has 120 members. The Senate has 100 members, 84 elected by the county assemblies for five years and 16 elected by the president. Politics is dominated by the president and parties loyal to him, including the former Communist Party. It is the last Soviet leader, Islam Karimov, who has been president since 1990, re-elected by 2000.

Uzbekistan Country Flag

Reference: Uzbekistan Flag Meaning

The governance has been relatively authoritarian, which has contributed to some extent to stability, at least in the short term. However, it also reflects the concern of the rulers that the country should be torn apart by religious and ethnic strife. Parties on religious or ethnic grounds are prohibited.

Administratively

Administratively, the rather centrally governed country is divided into 12 counties (oblasts), an autonomous republic, Karakalpakia and the metropolitan area. There are elected councils in the counties, while the executive rests with fairly independent state-appointed governors (khokims). Karakalpakia has its own governance, with a president-elect.

Judiciary

The Supreme Courts include a Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Economic Court. Furthermore, there are courts at county and local level. Karakalpakia has its own judicial system, with a Supreme Court as the supreme court. The prosecuting authority is headed by a general attorney. He also oversees justice. The supreme representatives of the judiciary are appointed by the president, but must be approved by the House of Representatives.

Uzbekistan’s defense

Uzbekistan has military service with the first 12 months of service. The total force figures for Uzbekistan’s armed forces are 48,000 active personnel (2018, IISS). In addition there are about 20,000 semi-military, of which up to 19,000 personnel in internal security forces and a national guard of 1,000 personnel.

Army

The Army has a strength of 24,500 active personnel. Materials include 340 tanks (of which 170 are T-62, 100 T-64, and 70 T-72), 19 clearing vehicles, 270 storm tanks, 359 armored personnel vehicles and about 83 self-propelled artillery. In addition, the army has heavy artillery.

Air Force

The Air Force has a force of 7500 active personnel. Material comprising 12 fighters of a MiG-29, 13 fighter aircraft of the type Su-27, 16 attack aircraft of the type Su-25, 26 EK-fly, 13 ELINT aircraft, seven transport aircraft, 14 trainers, and 98 helicopters, of which 29 combat helicopters of type Mi-24. In addition, the Air Force has long range air defense missiles.

Uzbekistan Head of Government

Ten years after the Andijan massacre

On May 13, 2015, human rights activists from around the world commemorated ten years since the massacre in Andijan, a city in eastern Uzbekistan in which hundreds of innocent people lost their lives. The triggers for what is remembered as one of the most tragic events in contemporary Central Asian history are complex. In Uzbekistan, between June 2004 and February 2005, numerous businessmen were arrested at different times and cities in the country. The first 23 were arrested in Andijan, the fourth largest city in the country, another ten were taken in September in the capital Toškent, and still others again in Andijan in early 2005. All were accused of involvement in the extremist religious organization Akramia. an accusation seen by many observers as a pretext for the Karimov presidency to limit the action and activity of important and influential figures in the country. On May 11, 2005, the verdict was expected for the first 23 detainees, but the further unjustified extension by the court triggered anti-government protests in front of the courthouse that led to numerous arrests of demonstrators over the next two days. This is how we arrived at the night between 12 and 13 May, when hundreds of masked and armed people attacked government buildings and barracks, took possession of weapons and, above all, entered prisons, freeing businessmen and dozens of other inmates. . Driven by the apparent success of the escape from prisons and by the supporters of the attackers who took to the streets since the morning, thousands of unarmed people took to the streets to protest poverty and to demand the resignation of President Karimov. According to the reconstructions of eyewitnesses, the police would then have started firing on the crowd indiscriminately, causing the death of hundreds of people, including women and children (official figures speak of 187, but the real number could reach a thousand). The security forces, denying any government responsibility for the killings, identified the ‘Akramia’ organization as the only culprit. The events were condemned by the EU and the US (which also adopted sanctions against the country) and led to a strengthening of Uzbekistan’s relations with non-Western partners. In particular, the Uzbek government received the full support of China and Russia, which accepted the thesis of the threat to the country’s stability by Islamic terrorist movements and therefore supported the need for intransigent political responses. Still in 2015, Human Rights Watch denounced the permanent impunity of those responsible for the massacre and the injustice of many of the hundreds of trials opened on suspicion of terrorism.

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