Uzbekistan’s 2024 parliamentary elections, held on October 27. The election filled all 150 seats in the Legislative Chamber using a mixed system of both single-member constituencies and proportional representation. Each of the five political parties on the ballot is aligned with the government showing absence of meaningful competition. While Mirziyoyev promised reforms aimed to foster greater political openness, observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) noted lack of genuine opposition and restricted freedoms, limited choices provided to voters, which calls into question the election’s democratic validity. Uzbekistan’s burdensome laws on political party registration make it nearly impossible for Karakalpakstan to have independent political representation. New parties must gather 40,000 supporting signatures from eligible voters across all 14 administrative regions of Uzbekistan, with no more than 8% from any single region. This geographic spread requirement is hard for parties focused on Karakalpakstan to meet, as their base is primarily within the region itself.
As a result, Karakalpakstan’s parliament consists solely of Uzbek political parties but no independent regional parties that would represent Karakalpakstan. This situation limits Karakalpakstan’s political participation and political diversity in Uzbekistan, leaving little space for unique regional concerns to shape government policy. Despite Karakalpakstan’s formal sovereignty decision-making power is centralized, making it difficult for Karakalpak voices to influence the political processes.The absence of a mechanism for Karakalpak political voices to formally organize creates an environment where local perspectives are underrepresented, leaving virutally no space for independent political activities or legislative initiatives specific to Karakalpakstan’s needs.
Additionally, efforts to establish Karakalpak political parties face severe persecution from the Uzbek authorities. Any attempts to organize political parties within Karakalpakstan are often met with swift crackdowns from the Uzbek government, which views such initiatives as a threat to its control over Karakalpakstan. This hostility has been evident in the past incidents, including arrests of activists advocating for Karakalpak rights and calls for political independence. As a result, the political environment remains highly repressive, discouraging any dissent or meaningful political organization among the Karakalpak people.
Historically, movements advocating for Karakalpakstan’s independence have emerged in response to perceived marginalization and cultural suppression. The Free Karakalpakstan National Revival Party and Alga Karakalpakstan represent key independence-focused efforts. Alga Karakalpakstan is notable for being led by Aman Saidullayev, who eventually fled Uzbekistan and established a “government in exile” in Norway. Sagidullayev’s group has criticized the Uzbek government’s treatment of the Karakalpak people, but both Alga Karakalpakstan and the Free Karakalpakstan National Revival Party remain fringe movements without the right to register as a political party in Karakalpakstan.
The quest for political representation in Karakalpakstan illustrates the broader challenges that the republic faces when striving for sovereignty within a centralized authoritarian system. Extremely harsh requirements for forming independent political parties, along with the government’s crackdown on those advocating for Karakalpak rights, make it nearly impossible for the Karakalpak people to have their voices heard.
