The Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (UzLiDeP; ), officially the Movement of Entrepreneurs and Businessmen – Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (), is a

political party in Uzbekistan This article lists political parties in Uzbekistan, a post-Soviet nation dominated by the supporters of the President of Uzbekistan. Despite small reforms and openness in the 2010s, no true opposition parties are allowed and every registered party ...

and the country's

ruling party The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...

. The four other parties in the

Oliy Majlis The Oliy Majlis (, /) is the parliament of Uzbekistan. It succeeded the Supreme Council of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 1995, and was unicameral until a reform implemented in January 2005 created a second chamber. The legislative chamber ha ...

, Uzbekistan's

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, are pro-government. It’s rule has been described as

Authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

History

The party was founded in 2003 by

Islam Karimov Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov (30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was an Uzbek politician who served as the first president of Uzbekistan, from the country's independence in 1991 until his death in 2016. He was the last First Secretary of the ...

as a split from

People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan The People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (, O‘zXDP. Russian language, Russian: Народно-демократическая партия Узбекистана, НДПУ, ''Narodno-demokraticheskaya partiya Uzbekistana, NDPU'') is a politic ...

, which was led by Karimov from 1991 to until 1996, at which point Karimov stepped down and resigned his membership. Despite self-identifying with different ideologies, the parties are seen as no different from each other, with the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party being created to give an illusion of a competitive

multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional ...

; this is supported by the fact that the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan remained supportive of Karimov's policies and retained his favor.

Ideology

As a self-described

centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...

Hollekim, Ragnhild. ''Uzbekiztan : presidential election December 2007 : report''. Vol. 2/2008 of ''Nordem Report (Online).'' Oslo: University of Oslo, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, 2008. . party of the

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

and

private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...

owners, as well as businesspeople, farmers, and the service sector, it seeks to promote

economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic liberalism ...

and

economic liberalization Economic liberalization, or economic liberalisation, is the lessening of government regulations and restrictions in an economy in exchange for greater participation by private entities. In politics, the doctrine is associated with classical liber ...

, having liberalized the

foreign currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific environm ...

market. The party is nominally

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

and supportive of

liberal democratic Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal democracy are: ...

values; however, its liberal practice on economic issues has not been reflected in practice at the political level, as it has ruled an

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

state, despite reforms following the death of long-time leader

in 2016.

Electoral history

During the

2004–05 Uzbek parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Uzbekistan on 26 December 2004, with a second round on 9 January 2005.Ele ...

, the party won 41 out of 120 seats. In the

2009–10 Uzbek parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Uzbekistan on 27 December 2009 and 10 January 2010 to elect the 150 members of the Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan, the lower house of the ''Oliy Majlis''. Of these, 135 were directly elected from single mem ...

, it won 55 out of 150. It has allied with the

Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party The Uzbekistan National Revival Democratic Party (, OʻzMTDP), often known as simply Milliy Tiklanish, is a national conservative, national-conservative political party in Uzbekistan. It is allied with the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan ...

, a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

party. In October, the party said that it intended to nominate President

as its candidate in the

2007 Uzbek presidential election Presidential elections were held in Uzbekistan on 23 December 2007.Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

, and Karimov accepted the nomination. Karimov remained the president until his death in 2016. After the death of Karimov, long-time prime minister and party member

Shavkat Mirziyoyev Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician who has served as President of Uzbekistan and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan since 14 December 2016. Previously, Mirziyoyev led the gover ...

won the

2016 Uzbek presidential election Snap presidential elections were held in Uzbekistan on 4 December 2016, following the death of incumbent President Islam Karimov on 2 September. The constitution mandated that the election be held within three months of Karimov's death. Interim Pr ...

to finish out Karimov's term. Mirziyoyev was re-elected in the

2021 Uzbek presidential election Presidential elections were held in Uzbekistan on 24 October 2021. This was the sixth presidential election held since independence. Incumbent President Shavkat Mirziyoyev won a second term with a majority 80.1% of the vote, although faring the ...

Presidential elections

Legislative Chamber elections

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

Official website
Political parties established in 2003 Political parties in Uzbekistan 2003 establishments in Uzbekistan {{uzbekistan-party-stub Opposition to same-sex marriage in Asia Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Asia