Executive branch

PRESIDENT

The institute of presidency was first introduced in Uzbekistan in 1990. Accordingly to the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the President is the Head of State and the Head of Government. The President of Uzbekistan enjoys virtually unlimited power. He is the central political figure defining political and economic strategy of the country. Upon the tradition, the President also controls those major issues of state policy, which de jure belong to the competence of legislative and judicial authorities.

On December 6, 2001 Islom Karimov introduced a reform that was to constrain presidential authorities. Upon the reform introduced some presidential powers should be drawn to the Cabinet of Ministers which in its turn was to be formed by a legislative body. Special legislation was passed to provide basis for this reform: amendments were made into the Constitution and a new edition of the law “On the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan” was passed, and thus the right to appoint the nominee for the post of the Prime Minister was granted to the Parliament. This was a radical change in the current political system.

Presidential Election

Initially the President was elected by the Supreme Council of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. The first alternative presidential election on the basis of universal, equal and direct vote by secret ballot was held in 1991.

Accordingly to the Constitution, the President of Uzbekistan is elected for a term of seven years (up to 2002 the term of presidential office was 5 years). A person shall not be elected to office of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for more than two consecutive terms. This limitation is rather formal for the current President of Uzbekistan Islom Karimov who was first elected the President yet by the Supreme Council of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990, then reelected in 1991, and in 1995 his authority was prolonged by the referendum. In 2000 Karimov won presidential election by landslide (91.2% of votes).

On December 23, 2007 Islom Karimov was reelected President of Uzbekistan for the third consecutive term with a landslide of 88.1%. The turnout was high - about 90% (with only 33% needed to validate the vote) - but the election was widely viewed as undemocratic, with opposition candidates being sidelined from the political process, and anticonstitutional as the Constitution of Uzbekistan provides for two consecutive presidential terms only.    

Authorities of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Accordingly to the Constitution, the President of Uzbekistan:

• represents the Republic of Uzbekistan in domestic matters and in international relations;
• conducts negotiations, signs treaties and agreements on behalf of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and ensures the observance of the treaties and agreements signed by the Republic and the fulfillment of its commitments;
• forms the administration and leads it;
• sets up and dissolves ministries, state committees and other bodies of administration of the Republic of Uzbekistan, with subsequent confirmation by the Oliy Majlis (the Parliament);
• signs the laws of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The President is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan; he forms the National Security Service; has the power to proclaim a state of war.

Personalities

Islom Karimov - President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Official Sites

Press Service of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan - www.press-service.uz

Portal of the State Authority of the Republic of Uzbekistan - www.gov.uz

PRESIDENTIAL APPARATUS

What is special about how state institutions of Uzbekistan are designed it is that there is no Presidential Administration as a political institution and a self-standing centre of authority. Uzbek legislation regulates the Presidential Apparatus as a consultative body (not a governing one), formed by the President. The Presidential Apparatus has no clear structure and has no coordinating center; nevertheless its activities directly influence both home and foreign policy of the country.

Zelimkhan Khaidarov –Head of the Presidential Apparatus

Consultative and Control Bodies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Presidential machinery includes a number of various analytical and consultative structures. None of them critically influences the situation in the country. Their activities include collecting of statistic data and supervising the declared reforms under way. The following are the largest of them: the Coordinating Council for Reforms and Investments, the Council for Reforms of Legislation, Law Enforcement and Judicial Systems and others.

Several councils have special authorities:

Presidential Council for Coordination and Control

The Council controls execution of decrees and enactments issued by the President.

Tursunkhon Khudaibergenov - State Councilor, Chairman of the Presidential Council for Coordination and Control

Presidential Council for National Security

Formed upon presidential decree in 1995, the Council is a consultative body on the issues of home and foreign policy and national security.

Islom Karimov (President of the Republic of Uzbekistan) - Chairman of the Council for National Security

Ruslan Mirzayev (State Councilor) - Secretary of the Council for National Security

Republican Council for Coordination of Control Bodies

Formed in 1996, the Republican Council for Coordination of Control Bodies develops and approves schedules of inspections and sanctions these inspections.

Ravshan Shamsiyev - Chairman of the Republican Council for Coordination of Control Bodies

GOVERNMENT

The Cabinet of Ministers is one of the crucial state bodies of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Cabinet includes the Head of Government (Prime Minister), his Deputies, Ministers, Chairmen of State Committees. It also includes the Head of Government of the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, who is an ex officio member of the Cabinet accordingly to the Constitution. (As to the Constitution of Uzbekistan and the Constitution of Karakalpakstan, the Republic of Karakalpakstan is a sovereign democratic republic and a part of Uzbekistan; it has the right to secede from the Republic of Uzbekistan on the basis of a nationwide referendum held by the people of Karakalpakstan.)

The Cabinet Structure

The Cabinet of Ministers is formed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The President presents to the Oliy Majlis (the Parliament) of the Republic of Uzbekistan his nominee for the post of the Prime Minister for subsequent approval. It takes the simple majority of both chambers of the Oliy Majlis to confirm the nominee as the Head of Government. The Prime Minister presents his nominees for the posts of Ministers to the President for approval.

The Cabinet presents the program of its activities approved by the President to the Oliy Majlis for approval. As to the legislation, the Cabinet repots its activities to the Oliy Majlis, but the law doesn’t provide the detailed machinery for reporting Government activities.

The Cabinet abdicates its responsibilities as the new Supreme Assembly (Oliy Majlis) of the Republic of Uzbekistan is elected.

The legislation of Uzbekistan doesn’t provide the Parliament with the right to impeach the Cabinet. Only the President can break up with the Cabinet. It is significant that resignation of the Head of Government doesn’t necessarily entail resignation of the whole Cabinet.

Personalities

Shavkat Mirziyayev–Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Head of the Agroindustrial Complex

Vyacheslav Golyshev –Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy

Rustam Azimov–First Vice Prime Minister

Elyor Ganiyev- Minister for Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade

Zakir Almatov - Minister of Internal Affairs

Vladimir Norov - Minister of Foreign Affairs

Official Sites

Portal of the State Authority of the Republic of Uzbekistan - www.gov.uz

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan - www.mfa.uz

INTERACTION OF THE EXECUTIVE BODIES

The President has the power to appoint practically every state official. The Cabinet is entirely under the President, though after the formation of the bicameral Parliament some of the presidential authorities were delegated to the Parliament (as regards to the Government – approval of the Prime Minister).

The Cabinet provides coordination for activities of all the ministries, state committees and other bodies of state and economic organizations in accordance with activities of khokimiyats (regional administrations). The Cabinet is also responsible for execution of the decrees and other enactments issued by the President.

Before the bicameral Parliament was formed, the President was the Head of the Cabinet and every his decision could be declared made by the President on behalf of the Cabinet.

At present time the Cabinet is headed by the Prime Minister but the legislation still provides the President with the right to make any decision on behalf of the Cabinet, and the President is active in use of this opportunity.

Presidential Apparatus holds a very special position in the system of the executive bodies of the state. Every decision made by any ministry or other governmental agency of Uzbekistan is to be approved by one of the State Councillors. Every appointment of a new republican or regional official is either made by instructions of the Presidential Apparatus or is approved by it (except for appointments made by direct instructions of the President; these are introduced to the President by the HR service of the Presidential Apparatus).

POLITICAL PRESSURE GROUPS IN THE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

The structure of the Uzbek political elite is clannish in its nature. In the Soviet period two major clans were the main players and rivals on the political scene in Uzbekistan: the clan of Tashkent, originating from yet the pre-Soviet times, and the clan of Jizzax, which had risen in the time of Sharaf Rashidov (1959 - 1983).

As the sovereignty of Uzbekistan was declared, Jizzax elite yielded to the clan of Samarqand, headed by President Islom Karimov and Ismail Jurabekov. The latter had for a long time been holding the office of the First Vice Prime Minister and was thought to be the “grey eminence” of the powerful elite of Uzbekistan. Among young leaders from Samarqand there also were the former Minister of Finance Jamshed Saifiddinov, former Minister of Justice Alisher Mardiyev, former State Councillor for National Security Gulomov and others.

At the same time the rivals of the Samarqand clan from the clan of Tashkent have firmly integrated into the administrative system and still more strengthened their previously strong positions in scientific and cultural spheres. Timur Alimov, State Councillor for Human Resources was the head of the Tashkent clan. His close allies were the leaders of practically all the national security, defense and law enforcement agencies: Minister of Internal Affairs Zakir Almatov, Chairman of the National Security Service Rustam Inoyatov, First Vice Prime Minister Rustam Azimov and others.

Up to 2003 the struggle of the two major clans – of Samarqand and of Tashkent – with their allies, clans of Fargo’na and Buxoro Viloyatlar determined the political situation in Uzbekistan.

The struggle of clans reached its peak in the end of 2002 and early 2003. The clan of Tashkent took an attempt to remove Ismail Jurabekov from the political arena. But instead of expected political “death” of Jurabekov, Timur Alimov, State Councillor for Human Resources (virtually number two in the system of government) was dismissed from his office by Islom Karimov. Jurabekov followed Alimov loosing his office of the State Councillor for Agriculture. Lost offices turned into disintegration of the Samarqand clan. The clan of Tashkent gave up with the principle of territorial recruiting of new allies and was reorganized in its structure.

Following events have shown the clannish principle of distributing authorities, although effective for a long time previously, to have exhausted its potential giving the opposition forces the opportunity to consolidate. Analysts suppose functional political groups are currently being formed in Uzbekistan; these groups are supposed to have vast financial resources, foreign connections and home support being in control of science and education in the country.

The group of “siloviki” - national security, defense and law enforcement agencies - is headed by Zakir Almatov and Rustam Inoyatov. It also includes the State Councillor for Law Enforcement Tursinkhan Khudaibergenov, Head of the Customs Committee Bakhadyr Matlyubov, First Vice Prime Minister Rustam Azimov, Minister for Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade Elyor Ganiyev, Prosecutor General Rashid Kadyrov, Head of the Tax Committee Batyr Parpiyev.

Another group is the coalition of the former Samarqand and Tashkent clans members: Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyayev, State Councillor for Human Resources Ismailov, Minister of Culture and Sports Alisher Azizkhojaev, Minister of Justice Buritosh Mustafaev, Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources Saifiddin Ismailov, Head of the Antimonopoly Committee Jamshed Saifiddinov. This informal group is headed by the head of the Presidential Apparatus Zelimkhan Khaidarov.

Each of these groups has a limited sphere of influence. Their resources depend on President Karimov who keeps the balance trying to constrain the groups in opposition and not strengthen his own allies too much at the same time.