Should Uzbekistan’s new Constitution be adopted, the incumbent President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will be able to again bid in the presidential elections. Sodiq Safoev, First Deputy Chairman of the Senate said.
The journalist of the publication noted that when it comes to constitutional reform, many people on the Internet make the assumption that the main goal of amending the Basic Law is to reset and extend the terms of the incumbent president.
In response to this, the senator said that no one doubts the need to amend the Constitution.
“At the same time, let's say it openly, if the new Constitution is adopted, it will, of course, create an opportunity for all citizens, including the current president, to bid in elections under the new Constitution. Whether the president will use this opportunity, this right or not, depends primarily on this person and the party that nominates him. But he will have this right,” Sodiq Safoev stressed.
He noted that this is international experience: "The new Constitution is the creation of a new legal space."
“If you ask my personal opinion, then from experience and as a person analyzing the international situation, I must say that today we live in a dangerous world, an extremely dangerous world. Every day the situation is getting more complicated. This cannot but have negative consequences, including on our country. But despite this, we need to pursue reforms. And I am convinced that the person who started these reforms should have the opportunity to bring them to the end. I can argue about it with anyone, anywhere,” he said.
The first deputy chief of the Senate stressed that the past five years have shown that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev "is not a politician who clings to power with teeth and claws."
“We see that he is a man who dedicated his life to serving the country and the Motherland. We see how much effort he is making to ease the livelihods of our people, ensure their well-being, their future, ”said the senator.
According to Sodiq Safoev, the largest countries of the world today "recognize Shavkat Mirziyoyev as the leader of a new formation for the work done over the past five years both domestically and in foreign policy."
“This is a huge achievement and support for our country and people, we have no right to lose it. In today's dangerous world, our people need a world-recognized leader," he stressed.
The senator cited the period of the coronavirus pandemic as an example. When even in the strongest states there was a deep crisis, "in Uzbekistan, the president played a big role in rallying the whole people, rallying all segments of the population, the government and non-governmental organizations, overcoming the crisis."
“I want to say again that if we adopt a new Constitution, it will create new opportunities for us. At the same time, I think that an important issue for us is to ensure the continuity and consistency of our reforms and policies. And this is connected with the name of President Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev. I don’t know what decision this person will make, but personally I am in favor of ensuring this continuity,” Sodiq Safayev said.
It should be noted that on the platform for accepting proposals for amendments to the Constitution, there are both proposals to reduce the presidential term from five to four years and prohibit one person from holding more than two presidential terms “during his life”, and proposals to extend one term to 15 years. 20 years, as well as the admissibility of a third term and the continuation of the nomination "if the president performs his duties very well."
