Constitutional Referendum in Uzbekistan on April 30, 2023: Declared Goals and Results

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the causes and consequences of the constitutional referendum held in Uzbekistan on April 30, 2023. The referendum, which was held under the slogans of adapting the Constitution to the requirements of the “New Uzbekistan” and strengthening the protection of human rights, had quite ambiguous consequences. Along with a certain improvement in the legal status of the individual, the referendum “zeroed” the entire tenure of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and began counting the term of Mirziyoyev’s presidency from the moment of the official announcement of the voting results. The referendum preserved the existing form of government in Uzbekistan, which is characterized by the dominant position of the president in the state mechanism. Thus, the referendum guaranteed the further preservation and strengthening of authoritarian tendencies in the development of the political system of Uzbekistan.