Ulugbek Inoyatov, the leader of the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, received the party’s nomination for president at its 13th congress in Tashkent on 29 May. The congress also adopted the candidate’s programme for the upcoming early presidential election, scheduled for 9 July.
The party nominated Ulugbek Inoyatov as its presidential candidate on May 12. The Central Election Commission approved the nomination papers submitted by the party.
According to the statement, the candidate’s programme aims to build a democratic social state in Uzbekistan with the principles of social justice, social equality and people’s power.
The programme contains about 100 proposals and initiatives for the state and society’s development, ensuring equal rights and opportunities, and pursuing a strong social policy.
In particular, the programme plans to reform the pension system, pass laws on minimum consumer spending, apartment buildings and shared construction, state support for housing construction, digitize health services, increase foreign language and IT teaching hours in schools, introduce “school tax”, a rent compensation scheme for doctoral students, improve pensioners' living standards and social participation.
The programme also aims to keep the state’s active role and involvement in the economy to create a socially oriented market economy “as the foundation of sustainable development and social welfare”. The candidate plans to offer the same privileges to local investors as foreign investors, to tax luxury property, to tax people who do business or advertising on the internet and social networks and others.
The candidate’s programme focuses on judicial reform as a guarantee of the rule of law, equality and human rights. He suggests to rotate the heads of regional and district (city) courts every year, introduce jury trials, enhance the work of oversight bodies (inspectorates) in the field and the role of public control and labour inspectorates in protecting the labour rights of citizens.
The programme also addresses the issue of “constructive foreign policy, based on openness and priority of national interests.” Suggestions in this direction include joining international human rights instruments, ensuring openness and transparency of the External Labour Migration Agency and enhancing public control.
