Central Asian country gears up for crunch elections

Martin Banks
Credit: Getty Images

For over two decades, Uzbekistan remained trapped in the limbo of a post-Soviet world.

But, this Sunday (October 27) it aims to take another key step in freeing itself from its Soviet past with legislative elections, the first for five years.

While some of the current government’s economic achievements are impressive,with an average growth rate exceeding 5%, challenges remain, including reducing still high levels of poverty.

While considerable attention has been paid to advanced welfare states and increasingly to countries in the Global South, the relatively new independent states of the former Soviet Union have remained neglected,

But, as a result of economic growth in the 2000s and investments in the social sphere, poverty has been decreasing steadily during this period. In 2022, approximately 14 percent of the total population of over 36 million, equivalent to around 5.4 million people, lived in monetary poverty.

This weekend’s elections represent two “firsts”: the first under a new “mixed” electoral system and the first since the introduction of a reformed constitution which makes a strong commitment to direct democracy.

Five political parties are fielding candidates for seats in the legislative chamber, regional and local councils: the ruling center-right Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (UzLiDep), the conservative right-wing Democratic Party of Uzbekistan Milliy Tiklanish, the center-left Social Democratic Party Adolat, the left-wing People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (PDPU), and the left-wing Ecological Party.

Current policies have helped cut poverty by some six per cent since 2021 with the decline steepest in rural areas (down 8 percent). It means about 1.6 million people have been lifted out of poverty during this period and, by the end of 2025 the target is to reduce the poverty rate still further, to 6 percent.

The World Bank says improvements in pension provision and salaries along with strengthened social protection have all helped cut poverty levels.

But latest figures show that about 11 percent of the Uzbek population still remains trapped in poverty so, clearly, much more is needed.

The â€śPoverty to Well-Being Programme” foresees continued improvements in medical and social services, education and investment in innovative and digital technologies,

But, with Sunday’s key elections looming, what do the country’s political parties propose to tackle the scourge of poverty?

Growth is a necessary condition for poverty reduction and that it why each of the parties have prioritised this ahead of Sunday’s poll.

Two of the five parties fielding candidates include UzLiDep, a centre-right party advocating liberal reforms, and Milliy Tiklanish, which promotes “national interests.”

Under the leadership of Uzbekistan’s current president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, UzLiDep is considered the leading political force responsible for implementation of the “Uzbekistan-2030” Strategy.  

The party’s election manifesto calls for further poverty reduction with a range of measures such as preferential and long-term loans and “preferential” mortgage loans for young families. The party is also committed to more house construction.

The Milliy Tiklanish, the Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, aim to maintain a balance between modern educational standards and traditional cultural values. It wants to introduce flexible working hours for women and increasing their economic. Another election pledge is that women have the right to receive paid maternity leave until the child reaches the age of three.

The election platforms of the NDPU and SDPU Adolat are based on leftist ideologies and initiatives focused on strengthening the social obligations of the State and business and protecting the rights of vulnerable segments of the population. The election programme of the Social Democratic party “Adolat” is called “Towards Equal Opportunities and Just Society” and it emphasises sustainable development,

The People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan’s manifesto, meanwhile, is based on the principles of “social protection, equality and justice.” Its programme focuses on safeguarding the rights and interests of older and persons and the disabled, building affordable housing for the poor and provision of affordable medicine for the poor. Under its programme, families registered in the “Unified Social Register” would be exempt from parental fees in state pre-school educational organizations.  All these and other measures, it says, will help lift people out of poverty.

The Ecological Party of Uzbekistan focuses on environmental problems and the fight against climate change, environmental pollution and the protection of natural resources. It also advocates improved social living conditions and believes that environmentally sustainable development of the country is directly linked to improving the quality of life and reducing inequality and poverty.

Speaking just ahead of the election, Alberto Turkstra, a keen observer of the region and co-founder of the Brussels-Uzbekistan Friendship Group, is generally positive about the country’s prospects of tackling poverty.

He said “Reforms have already delivered “visible and meaningful” outcomes, benefiting both economic growth and citizens’ well-being.”

He highlights Uzbekistan’s “ambitious” targets, including halving its poverty rate by 2026 and attaining upper-middle-income status by 2030.

He told this site: “Reforms have yielded visible and meaningful results, contributing to the well-being of citizens and economic growth.

International Financial Institutions, such as the IMF and World Bank, are generally positive about the outlook of the Uzbek economy  in their reports. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Uzbekistan earlier this year offered a broadly positive outlook, praising the government’s efforts to significantly reduce poverty. Against the backdrop of strong global headwinds (the COVID-19 pandemic, the negative spillover effects from the Russia-Ukraine war), the Uzbek economy keeps performing remarkably well.”

Against a worrying backdrop of growing global economic crises and worsening climate change, strengthening the social protection of the population is seen now as a vital condition for the country’s sustainable development. Uzbekistan has proclaimed itself a “Social State” and has doubled its social obligations to the population while measures are being taken to improve citizens’ well-being and reduce poverty.

On both it could be argued that significant results have already been achieved but this is still very much a “work in progress” and the State’s future task is to maintain current trends and achieve its ambitious goals by 2030.

Uzbekistan is a dynamically developing country with a fast-growing population of 32 million and is by some way Central Asia’s largest consumer market. It is opening up economically and politically, creating new opportunities for trade and investment. 

The key, moving forward, is for the whole population to feel the benefits of such economic transformation

In conclusion, it is clear Uzbekistan’s political parties promise a wide range of solutions on social issues that are, mostly, in line with the government’s goals.

The outcome of the election remains uncertain but what does seem sure is that programmes that are deemed to offer real solutions for citizens in social protection, housing, health care and education are likely to be widely supported.

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Martin Banks is an experienced British-born journalist who has been covering the EU beat (and much else besides) in Brussels since 2001. Previously, he had worked for many years in regional journalism in the UK and freelanced for national titles. He has a keen interest in foreign affairs and has closely followed the workings of the European Parliament and MEPs in particular for some years.
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