During a session of the Ecological Party of Uzbekistan faction within the Legislative Chamber, they deliberated on the second reading of the draft law addressing the process of making changes to legal documents and enhancing the conduct of elections and referendums.
This proposal, which has undergone a period of public consultation, outlines the adoption of a mixed electoral system for electing the Legislative Chamber, combining both a majoritarian and proportional approach.
The draft Constitutional Law introduces several innovations. One pivotal change is the provision that a political party must secure at least 7% of the votes cast by participating voters in a single electoral district to secure parliamentary seats through the established procedure. If no political party manages to achieve this threshold, it is implied that the election for those seats will not proceed.
During the deliberations, members of the faction shared their insights regarding the significance and implications of this Constitutional draft law.
In a previous development, the draft law proposing amendments and additions to specific legislative documents granted an opportunity to over 100,000 citizens to propose legislative changes and submit them to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis.
Daryo got an exclusive comment from Mladen Mrdalj, a political scientist regarding this topic of parliamentary changes. In his perspective, transitioning from a majoritarian electoral system towards a more proportional one typically results in a broader spectrum of opinions being represented in the national parliament. The electoral setup, where a portion of the parliament is chosen through majoritarian elections, while another segment is elected through proportional representation, is commonly referred to as a "parallel electoral system." Notable instances of this system can be found in Lithuania, Taiwan, and Russia, among others. Hungary, too, previously employed a variation of this system, which still exists in some form today.
"What we can see from these several examples is that these countries were moving into various political directions despite having "parallel electoral system", some were becoming more and some less democratic. Therefore, single change of electoral system does not mean very much if it is not followed by other reforms," says Mladen Mrdalj.
These reforms often center on the promotion of media freedoms, as an informed citizenry is crucial for responsive decision-making. On the flip side, in the absence of the rule of law and impartial courts capable of penalizing both government and non-government actors who disseminate misinformation to manipulate the public, free media can be exploited by manipulative forces.
Moreover, the existence of independent courts is precarious when the government exercises total control over the political process. "What does this mean, "total control over political process"? It means that the members of parliament who belong to the ruling party or the ruling coalition of parties are always voting according to desires of party leaderships, even when they personally would disagree with the decision of the leadership. Why would they do that? If the electoral system is set up in such a way that candidacy for elections is not free for all citizens, but becoming a candidate depends on the decision of government authority, then government will only allow obedient candidates to run in the elections," the expert says.
In a somewhat analogous manner, when individual candidates are barred from running for office, and all candidates must be affiliated with a political party, the risk emerges that party leadership will dictate who makes it onto the party's candidate list. In this scenario, loyalty to party leadership takes precedence over qualities like integrity, experience, expertise, and, crucially, the views of the citizens.
Mladen Mrdalj continues: "Therefore, one of the most critical aspects in a political system aspiring toward more freedom for citizens and more responsibility for governments is whether an independent candidate can run for office, without having to become a member of a political party or get special permission from government. If the leadership of Uzbekistan is aiming for liberalization of political system, it should study comparative experience of electoral systems in other countries, so it could avoid mistakes of introducing a political and electoral system inflaming corruption and extremism."
For instance, proportional systems ensure that every political party receiving a minimum threshold of votes, such as 7% in Uzbekistan's case, secures parliamentary representation. This means that even extremist factions, constituting 7% of the electorate, can potentially gain access to the parliament. Once inside, extremists may incite other social groups to radicalize in response. In contrast, majoritarian systems typically favor candidates who secure approximately 30% or more of the vote, making it exceptionally rare for extreme candidates to secure parliamentary seats.
"To conclude, the proposed reforms can be good, but they need to be supported by other reform as well," sums up the expert.
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