On November 18, Tashkent hosted the first meeting of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan after the elections.

The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the meeting.

The meeting was opened by the Chairman of the Central Election Commission Zayniddin Nizamkhodjayev.

The National Anthem of the Republic of Uzbekistan was played.

The Interim Secretariat of the first meeting, the Accounts Commission, and the temporary group for monitoring the use of the electronic vote counting system were elected. The agenda was approved. The CEC Chairman presented information on the election results to the Legislative Chamber.

At the suggestion of the Council of Representatives of Political Parties, the deputies elected Nuriddin Ismoilov by secret ballot to the post of Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Then, the chairmanship of the meeting passed to the Speaker. Deputy Speakers were elected. Factions of five political parties were registered. In accordance with their agreed proposals, ten committees of the Legislative Chamber were created. 

The President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev addressed the meeting.

At the beginning of his speech, the Head of state congratulated the deputies on their election, emphasizing that this embodies the high trust and respect of our people.

It was emphasized that the current parliamentary elections went down in history as the first ones held in accordance with the renewed Constitution. This process was held for the first time under a mixed electoral system.

Following the elections, 150 deputies were elected to the Legislative Chamber. Among them, 57 women and 11 young people under 35. In general, the composition of the lower chamber was renewed by almost 60 percent.

The activities of the chamber over the past five years were touched upon. During this period, the Constitution was renewed, and more than 130 new laws were adopted, 1.5 times more than in the previous period.

The President also drew attention to issues outside the parliamentary vision field. For example, the share of laws with direct effect and transparent mechanisms for implementation remains low. Parliamentary and deputy control is still not effective enough. Deputies’ activities in electoral districts are mainly limited to organizing meetings and responding to complaints and questions.

The Head of state outlined his vision for the Legislative Chamber’s new tasks.

In particular, to strengthen the dialogue, it was proposed to create public councils under each committee with the participation of civil society representatives.

Establishing control and requirements and close cooperation with ministries is important in the work of parliamentary committees. Strengthening party and factional discipline is also necessary.

The President emphasized that lawmaking should first aim at solving urgent problems in society and put forward several legislative initiatives. Among them are the construction of modern residential buildings in place of outdated ones, a guarantee of protection of citizens’ funds allocated for housing construction, support for private education and investors in the energy sector, the introduction of compulsory health insurance, the creation of a legal basis for franchising, the capital market, and start-ups, and relations arising in artificial intelligence.

To activate the opposition, it was proposed to increase the number of guaranteed rights of the parliamentary opposition from 3 to 6, including granting it the positions of one committee chairperson and two deputy committee chairpersons, as well as additional rights to submit questions during “government hour” and parliamentary inquiries.

Particular attention was paid to transitioning to a broad, high-quality parliamentary control system. In particular, in accordance with the renewed Constitution, control over the execution of the State Budget is the exclusive competence of the Legislative Chamber. In this regard, it is necessary to strengthen the chamber’s work in this direction, including introducing the practice of submitting all Government reports on the State Budget to the chamber only together with the auditor’s report provided for by the Budget Code.

The Head of state stressed the importance of creating a system in which deputies will participate in preparing investment programs and have their opinions taken into account. In addition, it was proposed to increase the financial capacity of the regions, leaving the entire volume of revenue from land, property, and turnover taxes, as well as 50 percent of income tax revenues, at the local level from 2025.

To actively support citizens’ initiatives, it was proposed to create a Parliamentary Commission on Collective Initiatives under the Legislative Chamber.

Parliamentary diplomacy is an essential instrument of the state’s foreign policy. To further develop such ties, it was proposed to create parliamentary commissions in the lower house on issues such as harmonizing legislation with World Trade Organization agreements, mitigating climate change, and accelerating the transition to a green economy.

The President stressed that it is a great honor to be a member of parliament of a country with a population of over 37 million people, such as Uzbekistan.

“A deputy is a servant of the people, a role model for everyone, a person with a high level of political culture and knowledge, who sincerely loves his homeland. In strengthening peace, mutual understanding, and harmony in the family, mahalla, and society, in educating young people in the spirit of patriotism, and in defending the interests of Uzbekistan in the international arena, our people, all of us, first of all, rely on you”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

The heads of factions of political parties and deputies addressed the meeting. The President supported their opinions and called on the deputies to work harder and be closer to the people.

“The voice of the deputy is the voice of the people. If, when considering each issue concerning the fate of the country, you, first of all, see our hard-working, generous, and noble people before you, if you act, thinking not only about today, but also about the peace and happiness of the future generations, then our people will be pleased with you”, the Head of state said.

The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis made decisions after considering the issues on the agenda.

UzA