Uzbek Parliament Gets Tough on Prime Minister

In most countries, no one would bat an eyelid if parliament asked the prime minister a few difficult questions. Uzbekistan is different – the rubberstamp parliament never tackles the executive on decisions. 

Until now, that is. When Prime Minister Shavqat Mirziyoev appeared before both houses of parliament in mid-July, he gave the usual run-down of government activities in the first half of the year. As usual, it was full of facts and figures showing a massive improvement – in this case, in promoting small businesses.

Instead of the customary applause, legislators said the report was "unconvincing", as implementation of the state programme for business development was in fact seriously behind schedule.

Parliament instructed Mirziyoev’s cabinet to rectify the problems, and said it would be monitoring the situation to ensure this happened.

In the past it has always been President Islam Karimov who appeared before parliament to report national successes, with never a voice of dissent raised.

Last November, Karimov announced that the prime minister would henceforth account to parliament, as part of what a constitutional reform package he said was designed to "strengthen democratic institutions".

Some argue that the criticism of Mirziyoev shows the reforms are working.

"He [Mirziyoev] was asked tough questions, and he responded to them. Isn't that democracy?" asked Svetlana Artykova, who chairs the legislative committee in the Senate or upper house of parliament.

Artykova described the grilling Mirziyoev received as a "historic event".

Another legislator, who did not want to be identified, said it was an unprecedented opportunity to scrutinise the performance of government.

"There was something approaching a dispute in parliament," he said. "The People's Democratic Party faction even criticised the Mirziyoev’s report, calling it unpersuasive and noting that the figures it cited were inaccurate. That was something new for us."

Tashkent-based analyst Farhod Tolipov said the spectacle of a senior official being held to account held out hope that the system might become more democratic one day, although there was little movement in that direction at the moment.

"It was the first ever attempt by parliamentarians to subject the prime minister to criticism," Tolipov said. "It’s the start of a mechanism where parliament and government will deal with each other directly, without the president as mediator."

Others believe the whole thing was staged in order to undermine Mirziyoev, who is seen as a powerful figure whom Karimov may want to cut down to size.

Bahodir Safoev, a political analyst in Tashkent, believes the prime minister is now under a cloud and is being line up for dismissal.

There has been media speculation that Karimov, 73, who has run Uzbekistan for over two decades, viewed Mirziyoev as over-ambitious, and that recent constitutional reforms allowing parliament to call a vote of no confidence in the prime minister were designed to prevent him trying to become the next president. (Uzbeks Underwhelmed by Constitutional Reform.)

"If the parliamentarians dared to criticise Mirziyoev, that probably means his authority is diminishing. It may mean the end of his career," Safoev said.

Tashpulat Yoldashev, an Uzbek political commentator based in the United States, believes Karimov merely wants to put Mirziyoev in his place rather than sack him.

Although Mirziyoev has never let slip any trace of disloyalty, Yoldashev said, "that doesnt mean he has no political ambitions. So Karimov is putting pressure on Mirziyoev via parliament so that he knows his place."

Such is the hidden nature of politics in Uzbekistan that some experts offer a completely different interpretation.

Kamoliddin Rabbimov, an Uzbek political analyst in France, argues that two things are going on – first, Karimov is trying to foster the illusion of a robust pluralist parliament; and second, the prime minister is building up his own position.

"While delivering his report, Mirziyoev showed that he sees himself as an influential powerful political player and that rumours of his impending dismissal are untrue," Rabbimov said. "The prime minister and those around them were scoring a few points ahead of more resolute moves down the line."

This article was produced as part of IWPR's News Briefing Central Asia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.