A group of deputies of council of people's deputies of the Andijan province made an appeal to the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Deputy of the Andijan city council Jakhongir Zhiyanov said he was glad to "shoulder to shoulder" with the president to carry out reforms in the socio-economic and political areas of the country. At the same time, he reported about pressure on the deputies from officials and expressed dissatisfaction with the council's decisions, which "contradict the legislation and by-laws."
According to him, the deputies expressed complaints about the recent decision to deprive their colleague Shukhratbek Karimov of immunity at the 20th session of the Andijan city council, but after a few days “there are still no results”.
“We want to express our dissatisfaction with the fact that a gross violation of the immunity of a deputy of the local council remains without attention,” he said, urging the Senate to cancel the council’s decision due to violations of the procedure for organizing the session.
He asked the president to take control of the situation and strengthen the immunity of local council deputies.
Elyorbek Abduraimov, a deputy of the Khojaabad provincial council, considers the actions of the Andijan city council as "contrary to the law." He noted that this case applies not only to the deputies of the Andijan province, but also to the entire country.
According to him, "the prosecutor's office, as a body responsible for ensuring the rule of law, infringed on the immunity of the deputy who criticized illegal actions in the city."
“It can be seen that the bodies protecting the law, instead of being an example for the whole country, come out against the presidential and government decrees. This is disrespect for the deputies, disrespect for the people. The deputies were elected by the people,” he said.
The deputy recalled that despite constant criticism of the actions of officials, no action is being taken against them. At the same time, "an ordinary patriotic deputy is deprived of immunity because of one claim," said Elyorbek Abduraimov.
“The chairman of the Senate [Tanzila Narbaeva] makes many claims that local councils are not working properly. What deputy of the local council will work if the consequences are such? Fifteen days have elapsed, but we have not seen a serious reaction from the Senate to the event, ”he said.
The deputy of the Andijan city council, Diyorbek Abdusamatov, said that on the day of the session he reported a violation of the law to the leadership of the council, but "not a single person took measures to prevent violations."
According to him, after the session, he made an appeal to Tanzila Narbaeva, who sent a responsible officer.
Sadulla Ergashev, a deputy of the Asaka provincial council, also asked to cancel the "illegal decision" of the session of the Andijan city council.
Deputy of the Khojaabad provincial council, Bakhodir Saidaliev, said that all councils of the Andijan province expressed their dissatisfaction with the deprivation of parliamentary immunity from Shukhratbek Karimov. He believes that the session was organized "according to the scenario of the governor and the prosecutor of Andijan."
The deputy of the Shakhrikhan provincial council Mansur Rakhmonov asked to take control of the appeal of the deputies.
Earlier on May 17, the council, on the proposal of the prosecutor of Andijan, deprived the immunity of the deputy Shukhratbek Karimov, who regularly opposed the illegal allotment of land in the city and the decisions of the khokim Bakhromjon Khaidarov. At the same session, the deputies were searched and their phones were taken away.
The Ministry of Justice called the search of the deputy and the obstruction of his activities illegal. At the same time, the Prosecutor General's Office stated that the materials collected in the criminal case against Shukhratbek Karimov and his construction company were sufficient grounds to deprive him of immunity.
On May 21, the prosecutor of the city of Kurbonali Askarov resigned at his own request. The statement of the Prosecutor General's Office emphasizes that the dismissal is not related to the events that took place at the session of the Andijan city council.
Senate reaction
The day after the session of the Council of Andijan, on May 18, the Senate Commission on Assistance to the Revitalization of the Activities of Representative Local Authorities announced that it had begun to study these events.
a vote of no confidence in the Andijan deputies to local leaders, including the khokim.
“This situation shows once again why the deputies need to express a vote of no confidence in the khokims of districts and cities. So it's time to fix this in the laws, so that the hokim is really accountable to the kengash, so that he does not neglect the representatives of the people, so that he does not break the law, ”the parliamentarian said.
In his opinion, this attitude is due to "an excessive concentration of powers in one link."
“As a result, some khokims act illegally and behave like 'absolute rulers'. This is bad. The idea of building a civil society will remain on paper until, in practice, the immunity and security of the deputies who carry out their activities in the interests of the people are fully ensured, ”Kusherbayev said.
On Wednesday, the press service of the upper house of parliament told Gazeta.uz that an additional working group headed by Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Judicial and Legal Issues and Combating Corruption Shukhrat Chulliev and Senator Farkhod Bakiyev had left for the site.
On the same day, a statement appeared on the website of the Senate that in the coming days the public will be provided with detailed information on the results of the study of the special commission.
"In case of confirmation of the arguments given in the appeal, the cancellation of the decision taken in violation of the law will be ensured in the manner established by the Senate," the statement says.
Opinion of a deputy of the Legislative Chamber
Deputy of the Legislative Chamber, member of the UzLiDeP Rasul Kusherbayev believes that this appeal can be considered as unofficial vote of no confidence in the Andijan deputies to local leaders, including the governor.
“This situation shows once again why the deputies need to express a vote of no confidence to mayors of districts and cities. So it's time to fix this in the laws, so that a mayor is really accountable to the council, so that he does not neglect the representatives of the people, so that he does not break the law, ”the parliamentarian said.
In his opinion, this attitude is due to "an excessive concentration of powers in one body."
“As a result, some mayors act illegally and behave like 'absolute rulers'. This is bad. The idea of building a civil society will remain on paper until, in practice, the immunity and security of the deputies who carry out their activities in the interests of the people are fully ensured,” Kusherbayev said.