O‘ZBEKISTON
— Officially: O‘zbekiston Respublikasy.
— English: Uzbekistan.
— Seat of government: Toshkent.
— Status: Not democratic.
— Structure: One-party state. In theory, the president is elected directly; the legislature (Oily Majlis) comprises a Legislative Chamber, elected mostly in geographical constituencies but also one functional constituency, and a Senate, partially chosen by local governments and partially appointed by the president.
— Governing party: O‘zbekiston Liberal Demokratik Partiyasi.
— Head of government: Shavkat Mirziyoyev, president (since 2016).
— Chief (non-legal) opposition party: Serquyosh O‘zbekistonim, led by Sanjar Umarov.
— Other official legislative parties: O‘zbekistan Xalq Demokratik Partiyasi; O‘zbekiston Milliy Tiklanish Demokratik Partiyasi; Adolat Sotsial Demokratik Partiyasi; O‘zbekiston Ekologik Harakati (functional constituency).
— Assessment: An oppressive state, for a while associated with the West through the War on Terrorism. Longtime dictator Islom Karimov (1989-2016) was the last head of the local branch of the ruling party from the Советский « Sovetskiĭ » period; on independence (1991) he simply followed the common model for a sham democracy. In a rare example of defiance, in 2005, notable demonstrations in Andijon were forcibly suppressed, killing hundreds, after a revolt freed prisoners who included locals accused of political crimes; the border town of Qorasuv was seized by locals, central officials expelled, and border-crossing bridges to Кыргызстан « Kyrgyzstan » restored. Karimov died in 2016, amid an environment of confusion and disinformation, with Mirziyoyev, then prime minister, emerging to head the new régime.
— FH: 7-7, not free. Econ: 1.74 (164), authoritarian.
— Updated: 2016 October 1.
O.T. FORD