OREANDA-NEWS. August 06, 2013. The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan has hosted a joint session of parliamentary groups of the UzLiDeP, the “Milliy Tiklanish” DPU and the Adolat SDPU, who have united their efforts into a Bloc of Democratic Forces in the country’s lower house of parliament.

The principal goal pursued from the meeting was to discuss issues related to the further development of legislative foundations of the multiparty system as the critical and essential prerequisite of the society’s democratization, along with the elaboration of recommendations designed to reinforce and enhance interparty competition environment in the local representative bodies of government.

The session participants specifically underlined the urgency of ideas put forward by the President suggesting that the success of reforms underway, of the works designed to cardinally transform the appearance of the country, of urban and rural areas, the consistent elevation of living standards of the population, the effectiveness of economic reforms – that all this is by large contingent, among other things, on augmenting ethical spirituality in our society, on raising the political and law culture of citizens and their public activeness. Addressing these tasks, in the view of session participants, requires first and foremost further uplifting the effectiveness of activities and activeness of political parties, of their parliamentary corps in the representative bodies of local government.

The meeting attendees underscored that during the independence years, a complex of organizational-normative measures has been implemented in the country directed at the liberalization of the political system, at securing the diversity of political thought, views, stances, as well as the development of interparty competition. Measures have been adopted to perfect the normative foundations of the evolution of multiparty system. In particular, in the last two years, in accordance with the Concept of the head of our state, amendments and addenda have been introduced into specific articles of the Constitution of the country, electoral legislation has been refined, amendments and addenda have been approved to the Regulations of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

They have helped create a robust legislative base for the further consolidation of the significance and role of the representative branch in the system of government and politics, as well as cardinal elevation of the role of political parties in the efforts aimed at forming the bodies of executive branch of power and implementing parliamentary control over their activities. Crucially, additional conditions and stimuli have been marshaled for the considerable reinforcement of political and interparty competition – the critical constituent of democratic society.

The parliamentary groups of the UzLiDeP, the “Milliy Tiklanish” DPU and the Adolat SDPU in the Legislative Chamber said they are united in their belief that the political parties are currently becoming the most effective instrument in uplifting the socio-political activeness of citizens in Uzbekistan, in boosting their political and law culture, and that they are turning into a decisive factor in the further development and consolidation of central and local representative bodies of government.

The session participants stressed the remarkable growth in the influence exerted by party groups on the essence and content of the activities of local Kengashes (Councils) of People’s Representatives in the effective solution of pressing socio-economic issues in the development of regions. Thus, on the initiative of deputies from the UzLiDeP, target regional programs have been approved at local Kengashes of People’s Representatives in six provinces of the country to bolster investment activities, to modernize production capacities in the entities of small business and private entrepreneurship, their technical and technological renovation, extensive engagement of youths in entrepreneurship, etc. On the initiative of party groups from the “Milliy Tiklanish” DPU, 51 proposals have been introduced in 2012 for the contemplation of sessions of local Kengashes of People’s Representatives, while the Adolat SDPU has come up with 41 proposals designed to address a diversity of issues related to the socio-economic development in regions, and due decisions have been made concerning the majority of those recommendations. Quality transformation has been apparent in the work of party groups in dealing with appeals from the general public.

In the meantime, summarizing the results of the session, the Bloc of Democratic Forces has noted that notwithstanding the positive change, the activities of party groups in the local Kengashes of People’s Representatives do not always meet the requirements of the contemporary phase of the socio-political and socio-economic reforms being spearheaded in the country. In particular, the meeting contributors drew attention to the range of shortcomings and drawbacks across provinces hindering the elevation of social effectiveness of the reforms and their open and constructive discussion. This relates primarily to the persistent insufficient activeness of political parties in implementing parliamentary scrutiny of the activities of local executive bodies, to the substantial critique of leaders who fail to fulfill the duties they are tasked with.

The participants of the joint session pointed out that life requires today to elaborate and realize tangible and comprehensively worked out proposals directed at raising the activeness and effectiveness in the activities of party groups in local representative bodies of government.

To this end, according to parliamentary groups of the UzLiDeP, the “Milliy Tiklanish” DPU and the Adolat SDPU, pressing is the solution of issues pertinent to further uplifting the zeal of lawmakers in perfecting the legislation, improving the law enforcement practice in regions, with an eye to wide-ranging reforms in the country, to the demands and interests of the electorate of parties and their policy objectives. They stressed in particular the importance of introducing amendments and addenda to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Political Parties.

This initiative is designed to shore up the powers and responsibility of party groups from political parties in local Kengashes of People’s Representatives. Thus, they relate to a more clear-cut legislative definition of the terms and procedures of establishing party groups, of granting them with additional powers, the compulsoriness of consideration of proposals coming from party groups on issues raised and addressed in representative bodies of government, among other things.

In general, the session participants expressed unity in opinion that the perfection of legislation is going to become a critical stimulus for the further growth in the role and influence of political parties in local representative bodies of government, to facilitate the growth in their role and influence on the progress of democratic socio-political and socio-economic reforms underway in the country.

Following the joint session, a summarizing resolution was adopted as to initiate extensive discussion of this issue across regions with the participation of deputies of local Kengashes of People’s Representatives and activists of political parties. Outcomes of these deliberations are to be summarized, and eventually, building on them, proposals will be worked out to introduce amendments and addenda to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Political Parties, designed to bolster the role and importance of party groups from political parties in local Kengashes of People’s Representatives.