REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN - CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENDUM 30 April 2023

The president issues binding decrees and resolutions, appoints some of the members of the upper chamber of the parliament and has a key role in the appointment of regional governors (hokims), members of the Supreme Judicial Council, the prosecutor general as well as the chairperson of the State Security Service and other high-ranking officials. [...] Positively, the number of women in the parliament has increased from 24 in the 2014 elections to 47 in the 2019 elections of the 150 seats in the current Legislative Chamber and 22 out of 100 members of the Senate are women.16 The Chairperson of the Senate and the Deputy Chairperson of the lower chamber of the parliament are women. [...] See also paragraphs 110 of the 2018 Venice Commission Report on Term-Limits ”To the extent that constitutional amendments strengthening or prolonging the power of high offices of state are proposed, the motivation should be to improve the machinery of government as such, not the personal power and interests of the incumbent.” Article 7 of the transitional provisions of the Draft . [...] 30 Namely, the Speaker of the Legislative Chamber, the Chairperson of the Senate, the Chairperson of the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General, the CEC Chairperson, and the local governors. [...] Contrary to international good practice, the law neither prescribes the neutrality of public authorities nor regulates campaigning by officials.53 The lack of regulations allowed for the misuse of public resources, blurring the line between voter information and promotion of the referendum proposals.54 Several ODIHR LROM interlocutors stated that in the build-up to the referendum, activists and bl.