Election program – 2024

 

Pre-Election Program

of the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan in the 2024 elections for the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Dzhokorg (Supreme) Council of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional, district and city Councils of people's deputies

Election Program for a Social State

15 steps

 

About the Program

The People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan defines its program objectives, first of all, on the basis of priority of all-national interests of Effective implementation of the principle “Uzbekistan is a social state” and the relevant social obligations of the state by bringing to light the principles of social protection, social equality and social justice.

After the elections, the PDP deputies in the Legislative Chamber and Councils of People's Deputies will implement the following priority tasks and corresponding concrete steps to achieve these goals in the upcoming 5 years.

 

I. We strive to implement a strong social policy!

This is the foundation of social stability!

The goal of the PDP is to facilitate the implementation of an effective policy aimed at giving every person access to decent living conditions based on the principles of social equality and justice, reducing social disparities, helping the poor and in need, reducing poverty as well as providing the population with new jobs and a guaranteed source of income. Thus, we believe that the state should implement a strong social policy in order to fully ensure the interests of the population.

The party has established the following 15 strategic steps (measures) for the upcoming five years in order to accomplish these goals:

 

Step 1. Ensuring the fair and effective implementation of social rights of every person guaranteed by the Constitution

By supplementing additional standards to the laws pertaining to social security and population protection, the PDP fraction in the parliament shall achieve the development and adoption of the Social Code.

With this purpose, it is necessary to:

– clearly enshrine in legislation the categories of citizens in difficult social situations except for citizens with privileges and the types of assistance to be provided to them;

– in providing social services to vulnerable segments of the population, development of procedural mechanisms for implementation of public-private partnership, social entrepreneurship and the procedure for conclusion of social services agreement;

– develop a procedure for social diagnostics aimed at identifying and timely solving problems that can lead to an increase in social tension in society.

We strive to adopt the Law “On the Procedure for Determining the Subsistence Minimum” in order to determine at the legal level the minimum consumption expenses for the primary life needs of each person.

 

Step 2. Meeting the demands and needs, ensuring the legal rights and interests of persons with disabilities

The PDP fraction in Parliament and party groups in local Councils will achieve full alignment of national legislation with the UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. In particular:

– development of national standards of accessibility of objects and services for persons with disabilities, and to strengthen at the legal level as a separate part of the Law “On the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”;

expansion of the list of diseases of children under 18 years of age who need care of others (including muscular dystrophy (myodystrophy), early cerebral ataxia, progressive hereditary ataxia, etc.) and through this to further improve the state social support system for families caring for children in need of constant care;

– we strive to create additional opportunities for the movement of persons with disabilities, including the installation of digital hearing aids for the blind at railway stations, airports and train stations, sound electronic devices that warn people with disabilities at traffic lights and special corridors.

 

Step 3. Improvement of the state pension system

We will ensure that pensions and social benefits for all citizens are sufficient to fully meet the needs of life. For this purpose, we believe that it is necessary to regulate the following at the legal level:

– taking into account as a full year the periods of labor activities of citizens who worked in the former collective farm and joint-stock farm;

calculating the length of service required for the pension of women by fully adding the time of their child's care leave until the child turns 3 years old;

abolition of the restriction on receiving the basic amount of the old-age pension for caretakers of people (dependents) who reached the age of 80, people with congenital disabilities;

– implementation of the process for transferring the deceased spouse's higher pension to the surviving spouse in the event of the husband or wife's death (replacement of pension);

– oversee the pension funds that citizens have accrued, providing the opportunity to increase them by depositing them in the bank and to check them continuously online;

– for retired pensioners who have worked for at least five years and paid income tax and social tax to give the opportunity to recalculating the previously appointed pension and appointing an increased amount;

continue the policy of maintaining the pension without changing the pension age.

 

II. We strive for providing the population with affordable housing and high-quality utility services!

Uzbekistan is the most densely populated country in Central Asia. Naturally, rapidly growing demography puts before the state the issue of providing people with housing.

In this regard, large-scale reforms have been carried out in our country in recent years, including at the initiative of our party, to provide the population with affordable housing.

In particular, the state housing policy and concepts were adopted, as an important sign of the social state principle, providing housing for graduates of family orphanages, persons with disabilities, low-income families, especially women in need of special assistance. Certain measures are being taken, such as payment of initial contributions and preferential and long-term mortgage loans.

The party believes that the work carried out in this area is not enough and emphasizes that they should be expanded multiple times.

In this regard, the party will make a firm effort to ensure the right of citizens to have housing guaranteed by the Constitution, and for this purpose, to expand the construction of affordable housing.

 

Step 4. Providing the population with affordable housing and effective supervision in the construction sector

We are in favor of increasing the construction of affordable housing for the poor, including persons with disabilities, parents raising disabled children, and women in a difficult social situation.

As a solution to this issue, the following steps should be taken:

– Adoption of the Law “On Social Housing”, which enshrines establishment of special funds in return for mandatory deductions from the income of construction companies and commercial banks building luxury housing, and envisages construction of social housing for the segments of the population in need of social assistance, including women who are homeless, living in extremely difficult conditions, have disabilities or have family members with disabilities, graduates of family orphanages;

– adoption of the Law “On participation in housing construction based on the contribution of shares”, which provides for the introduction of the escrow payment system in order to create guarantees for the protection of people's funds involved in the construction of residential buildings;

to strengthen public control in the field of construction, imposing the obligation to provide the population with detailed information on the approved constructions by Inspectorate of Construction Inspection;

– strengthen state supervision over constructions, organize construction processes in an orderly manner, without harm to the population and the environment, establish a system for measuring the level of noise and dust in constructions;

strengthen the requirements for construction, including strict determination of the requirements for taking into account green zones, schools, kindergartens, polyclinics, parking lots, etc. at the legal level;

development of an online discussion platform in order to establish a system of public discussion on construction works;

organization of the renewal (renovation) process of old and unusable buildings without harming citizens' families, property, peace of life: ensuring that the rights and legal interests of people living in renovated houses, especially intellectuals, persons with disabilities, children are taken into account, establishment of a special renovation fund to cover the costs of citizens in this process;

– introduction of a single software platform designed to provide citizens with information on available offers on the market, purchase, rent, and maintenance of housing.

 

Step 5. Increase the level of quality utility service to the population

Additionally, the party believes that the state of the energy and utility sectors has a significant impact on how the economy develops as well as how people feel and approach life. We aim to prevent large losses of energy and material resources, and to end the monopoly of utility service providers.

For this purpose, our parliamentary fraction strives for to implement the following proposals:

– adoption of the Law “On Regulation of Prices and Tariffs of Utility Services” to regulate the setting of prices and tariffs for the use of utility services and housing fund.

Revising the methods of managing and servicing the multi-apartment housing fund in the law; organization of service depending on the location of multi-apartment houses, the state of connection to engineering and communications, utility infrastructure objects and the affiliation of landscaping elements; provide for the establishment of a training system for the employees of the management bodies of multi-apartment houses, first of all, the management staff;

– regarding the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of modern playgrounds in places adjacent to multi-story buildings, designating Housing owners’ associations and Management service companies as responsible;

– strengthening the requirements for the activities of Management service companies, increasing their capacity to provide quality services to the population, transparency, accountability, and short-term elimination of deficiencies;

– introducing a system of compensation to the citizen by the supplier, in cases when a citizen is disconnected from communal services without reason or due to the supplier's fault;

In this regard, our party groups in local Councils will put forward suggestions for the implementation of regional investment programs aimed at giving the population with affordable energy, heating, and hot water systems, as well as local public-private partnership initiatives.

 

III. We will ensure the safety and ecological stability of cities and settlements

The party will strengthen its efforts to preserve the historical appearance of cities and settlements, and to protect natural resources.

 

Step 6. Turning the country into a safe and ecologically stable area

For this purpose, we believe that it is necessary to take the following measures:

– adoption of the Water Code to regulate social relations in the field of water use and protection, introduction of market principles in the use of water resources, regulation of water management and financing mechanisms;

– organization of “Health Parks” for active recreation and exercise of the elderly in the areas adjacent to multi-storey buildings;

– to limit the negative impact of urbanization and other industrial centers on the appearance of the countryside, landscape and infrastructure, adoption of the Law “On Preservation of Village Appearance and Landscape”;

restriction of arbitrary construction in areas adjacent to high-rise buildings and strengthening responsibility for blocking public spaces;

establishing a system of state pasture farms, applying land and tax privileges applied to state forestry, in this case, the funds saved at under these privileges shall be used to restore pastures, remove from them from degradation, to expand pasture plant seeding areas;

– declaring a five-year moratorium on issuing permits for hunting wild animals included in the Red Book;

the development of a mechanism for capturing and safely returning to nature of wild animals, including predators, that have come to settlements bordering on wildlife without harming them;

In this direction, together with our party groups in local Councils we will actively work on:

revision and improvement of the drainage system to prevent floods in urban areas;

– increase the number of electric public transportation vehicles, organize the installation of free electric charging stations.

 

IV. We support the creation of qualified medical service opportunities for every person!

The Party advocates the population to receive state-guaranteed medical services, regardless of the region in which they live, and transparency in the sector through full digitization of the healthcare system.

We see every young person seeking an education as someone striving to improve their destiny and as a citizen who guarantees the nation's future success.

 

Step 7. Expansion of opportunities and access to qualified medical services

In this regard, the party defines the following as priorities:

– adoption of the Law “On State Medical Insurance” to improve the legal basis of introducing medical insurance;

– adoption of a program to supply district (city) medical associations, children's multidisciplinary medical centers, and regional interdisciplinary medicine and medical diagnostics with cutting-edge medical procedures, technology, and relevant specialists;

– take measures to expand the scope of population screening in order to mitigate its negative consequences by early detection of the disease.

What is more, the party attaches priority to improving the system of providing quality medical services to the elderly. In this regard, it is important to ensure:

modernization and development of the medical social service system for elderly citizens;

development of the hospice system aimed at ensuring high standards of quality service for the elderly and oncology patients and development of the draft Law “On Provision of Hospice Services”;

– promoting the active participation of older people in all sectors by promoting a healthy aging strategy.

 

Step 8. Strengthening state supervision in the field of pharmaceuticals, regulation of prices of medicines and prosthesis and other medical and social services

Our party will work to simplify the process for those in need of purchasing medications, prosthesis, and other medical and social services with the support of the legislature, deputies, and the general public. For this purpose, our faction in the parliament and our parliamentary groups in the local Councils strive for:

– adoption of the Law “On State Regulation of Prices of Medicines and Medical Devices” which defines restrictions on the prices of medications and medical products;

strengthen government oversight of the pharmaceutical industry, specifically on medicine quality, pharmacy withdrawal orders, and sales;

– improvement of procedures for testing and approval of new medications based on the requirements of the World Health Organization;

– further improve the activities of social pharmacies and strengthen state and public control over the pharmaceutical industry;

– raising the tax burden on product categories that pose a health risk and, as a result, intensifying support for the healthcare industry;

– strengthen the requirements for the production of table salt in the country, including the application of punitive measures against producers of non-iodized table salt;

– reducing drug addiction by introducing treatment standards (protocols) by combining modern medicine and folk medicine;

– complete ban of advertising of medications (drugs).

 

Step 9. Support and promotion of sports and culture

The party considers public involvement in sports as an important part of the health care system. In this area, we consider it necessary to:

- in this direction it is necessary to create conditions for children to practice sports for free by popularizing the workout system;

- we believe that it is necessary to encourage the creation of video games promoting Uzbek culture and history, video heroes with the participation of Uzbek legends and historical characters.

 

V. We are supporters of quality education for young people.

This is a guarantee of increasing the intellectual potential of Uzbekistan!

The party’s aim is to transform Uzbekistan into a nation where all children, irrespective of their birthplace and family, can realize their potential and where an individual's growth is determined solely by their knowledge, talent, and hard work, rather than their financial status.

Every young person who aspires to learn is seen by us as someone who works to better his lot in life and as a citizen who ensures the prosperity of the country in the future.

Step 10: We aim to give all citizens equal access to high-quality early childhood, secondary, postsecondary, and professional education, as well as improve their skills in all educational institutions.

We believe that the following measures should be taken to guarantee that all segments of the population have equal access to general and professional education:

exempting the children of the family registered in the “Unified Social Register” from parental fees paid to state preschool education organizations;

– organizing activities of groups with extended day in primary classes of public secondary schools, providing benefits for the children of the family registered in the “Unified Social Register”;

– taking the initiative to widely implement the “Health School” social project;

– introducing differentiated tariffs for schoolchildren in using public transport;

– strengthening public control over the school nutrition system, preventing the sale of food products harmful to health, increasing responsibility for distribution of low-quality products;

– keeping the number of students in primary classes up to 20, and to create a system of teaching up to 24 students in senior classes;

– organizing departments for working with persons with disabilities in higher education institutions, creating infrastructures for them, including provision of surdo translators for deaf and dumb students using artificial intelligence;

– strictly determining the amount of tuition fees (contract-payment) for higher education and prohibition of its revision in a period of not less than three years;

– strengthening the requirements for higher education institutions to provide students with a place in the dormitory and to create a dormitory system based on public-private partnership;

– establishing family pre-school education organizations under large enterprises, especially manufacturing organizations specializing in women's work, through this creation of suitable conditions for women working in the enterprise, stabilization of the social environment in the family;

– comprehensive support of inclusive education, increasing coverage of children involved in inclusive education;

– ensuring the competitiveness of school graduates in the labor market by dramatically increasing the hours of foreign languages ​​and IT studies in school curricula;

– regarding the education after 9th grade, establishing a system of referral to higher education or profession based on selection, in this, educating young people not interested in higher education a specific profession and a foreign language in depth at their discretion;

creating conditions for individuals who have not received formal professional or higher education to improve their social status through independent education and occupation by establishing a procedure for recognizing the results of non-formal and informal education at the secondary, professional and undergraduate levels;

– by providing accelerated education for children who entered the first grade late for various reasons and by conducting examinations based on state educational standards, introducing the procedure of transfer to a higher class in proportion to their age;

– adopting programs aimed at preparing specialists on artificial intelligence and support training in this field;

introducing educational voucher system in higher education as a strategy to boost competitiveness, increase educational choice, and enhance educational quality;

– adopting a national strategy for ensuring the safety of children on the Internet, introducing training programs for children on the basics of cyber safety, including online fraud, detection of online threats and protection against them;

– introducing a state-supported system of translating major research results published in foreign countries in the last five years into Uzbek and placing them in open resources for pedagogues and researchers;

– simplifying processes such as elimination of various bureaucratic obstacles for scientific researchers at the post-higher education stage, digitalization of the field, provision of openness and transparency, obtaining documents and references, publication and distribution of abstracts.

In addition, the PDP promotes initiatives to improve the activities of libraries and museums. In particular, we believe that it is necessary to take additional measures to give librarians the status of librarian-pedagogue based on advanced foreign experience, to develop mechanisms to stimulate their activity, to introduce artificial intelligence into the activities of libraries, and to improve the activities of museums.

 

VI. Socially oriented market economy is the basis for a strong social policy!

We are the supporters of socially oriented market economy. We believe that it is necessary to ensure the social efficiency of the economic policy, to strengthen the main regulatory role of the state in the economy.

 

Step 11. Maintaining the active role and participation of the state in the economy, reducing poverty, improving tax legislation and developing the banking and credit sector

The PDP proposes the following in this direction:

– maintaining state control over strategically important companies, prohibiting their privatization at the legal level;

– introducing national model of compulsory social insurance for unemployment;

supporting local investors, including giving them the same benefits as foreign investors;

developing and implementing regional programs for the production of food products and other goods of daily need that replace imports at the expense of local budget funds and private investments;

all revenues received by the ministries and agencies as a result of the provision of public services or imposing fines should be directed to the State budget in full;

– introducing a fair taxation system for excessive concentration of wealth, regardless of income and their sources;

introducing income tax for commercial and advertising activities of bloggers, viners, influencers through the Internet and social networks;

annulling value added tax on products necessary for the care and feeding of children under 5 years of age;

– improving conditions for the self-employed and labor migrants, including expanding the list of activities that can be engaged in as self-employed, emphasizing the implementation of organized and orderly migration;

increasing the transparency of public procurement, strengthening public control in this area, determining public announcement of all tenders in the field of public procurement, increasing responsibility for violation of legal requirements in the field of public procurement;

– implementing structural reforms in the economy and introduction of new technologies, accelerating the processes of reducing bureaucratic barriers and authorization procedures through digitization;

– adopting a program to increase the financial literacy of the population.

 

VII. Ensuring the social acceptability of the prices of goods and services is a priority direction of targeted social policy

It is necessary to strictly establish state and public control over the price formation of socially important goods and services. For this purpose, it is necessary to take the following measures:

 

Step 12. The party strives to ensure that the needy strata of the population has access to daily necessary goods and services

For this purpose, the PDP offers the following:

– developing a network of social stores for the sale of daily necessary goods and products at low prices for the lower-income population;

setting taxes at a zero rate so that tour operators can create reasonable and interesting offers in order to organize travel programs around the country for pensioners and benefit recipients;

– regulating weddings, funerals and other family events, setting social standards for these events in order to reduce cases of extravagance by the population, putting an end to lower-income families sinking into debt.

At the same time, the credit mechanisms offered by banks should also be in accordance with the principle of social justice, in particular:

enshrining that consumer loan interest rates for the population cannot be higher than the business loan interest rates offered for business;

– in case of mortgage loan payment arrears, allowing the borrower to sell the mortgaged real estate at an auction for a three-month period based on a three-way sales contract at a price convenient for him/her, which improves the situation of the creditor in a difficult situation;

– in order to prevent consumer confusion and protect their rights, when purchasing a product on credit or installment basis, introducing the requirement to disclose its full value for stores and platforms as well, specifying the amount of additional payment for the product as a mandatory requirement in the contract and on the sales page of the seller.

In order to provide the population with affordable and high-quality food products, the PDP proposes to strengthen the state's participation in this field, including the establishment of agricultural organizations with state participation.

 

VIII. We support the implementation of democratic management based on social equality and people's power!

Step 13. The party is in favor of introducing an open, transparent, popular and democratic system of government

The PDP fraction in the parliament intended to create a mechanism for mandatory public discussion and screening of draft normative legal documents affecting the social mood of the population.

On this basis, we ensure that decisions that significantly change the order and level of social protection targeted at vulnerable segments of the population are not taken without appropriate public consent.

In this direction, the party believes that it is important to expand the participation of citizens in the management of society and state affairs by improving the “My Opinion” platform.

At the same time, in order to ensure high professionalism in public administration, the PDP is working to establish a requirement for the position of the head of the republic's executive authorities to recommend only qualified specialists with at least ten years of work experience in relevant field.

Taking into account the experience of developed democratic countries, we will also strive to implement the following ideas:

– developing institutional mechanisms of gender equality, promotion and support of women's participation in elections, activities of political parties, including introduction of 50 percent mandatory quotas for women in leadership positions in state bodies;

– introducing the institution of consultations with political party fractions and local party groups when making important social decisions by the executive power;

step-by-step transfer of some functions of the state bodies to institutions of civil society;

– further expanding the rights and powers of political parties, associations of deputies in them;

introducing “quota for persons with disabilities” in elections to the parliament and local Councils and in the state civil service.

Increasing the attractiveness of the civil service, steadily carrying out the reforms that have been started in the civil service sector, including:

– granting employees, the option to arrive at work one hour later and depart one hour earlier on days when the outside temperature differs (warmer or colder) from the designated level;

reducing the number of public officials in state bodies, to limit the luxury in the activities of public officials, including reducing the level of transportation support for them, to institute the procedure of filing cases of civil servants engaging in luxurious behavior as a breach of their code of ethics, which will result in disciplinary action;

– establishing new requirements for protecting the rights of working mothers and women with small children by expanding remote work opportunities.

 

IX. We support the rule of law, ensuring social equality and human rights, strengthening citizen solidarity and social stability!

The PDP is steadfast in its efforts to guarantee the availability of judicial mechanisms for the protection of citizens' rights in light of the ongoing development of the rule of law

 

Step 14. Ensuring the availability of judicial mechanisms, further strengthening the rule of law, strict adherence to equality of rights, obligations and opportunities

We believe that the following measures should be taken in this direction:

– introducing jury institute instead of people's advisers in the administration of justice;

– introducing the practice of rotating the chairperson of regional, district (city) courts;

– ensuring that advocacy and legal services are socially available in defending their rights, to establish a system that is acceptable for giving lower-class persons legal aid and services, to develop a network of “legal clinics” that offer free legal advice;

strengthening the independence and status of sectoral control bodies (inspection), to reduce the influence of republican executive authorities on them;

– prohibiting the sharing of data, images, and videos about victim women and children of oppression and abuse on social media, considering the detrimental effects on the mental health and future these individuals;

– introducing a clause requiring consideration of the fact of compensation of the damage caused by the defendant to the victim when a less severe sentence is substituted for the fraud offense;

prohibiting giving valuable gifts from the state budget, increasing responsibility for inefficient and purposeless use of funds from state budget.

The PDP considers combatting corruption to be one of its priorities. The followings are important tasks in this direction:

– introducing the practice of retaining a register of persons who have committed corruption-related offenses and restricting their access to public service;

ensuring openness and transparency in considering and announcing the results of corruption-related appeals (complaints);

strengthening liability for corruption-related offenses and for aiding in their commission.

The party believes that relevant measures should be taken to ensure road safety, prevent deaths, and reduce traffic congestion. To this end, the party proposes to consider and address the following matters:

expanding the public transportation network, improving resident convenience at public transportation stations, and combating instances of illegitimate, willful possession of such stations;

expanding parking lots, creation of an ecosystem of paid parking lots around the road, introduction of a mandatory requirement for parking lots in newly constructed residences, encouraging the introduction of multi-story parking lots;

promoting the use of public transportation by government employees; limiting the use of private automobiles based on the distribution of odd and even license plate numbers among the days of the week;

– constructing toll roads as a substitute for the main roads, without influencing their overall extent;

– informing citizens about planned road repair works and their duration at least ten days in advance by placing an alert notice in this area and announcement on the Internet;

constructing car-free streets, taking additional measures to make cities and villages more convenient for people, expanding pedestrian and bicycle lanes;

– preventing harm caused by faulty gas cylinders by digitizing all procedures associated with the manufacture, installation, periodic technical inspections and tests of compressed natural gas cylinders for cars;

– introducing a one-time use of the possibility of reducing the period of deprivation of the right to drive, which is expected to guarantee lawfulness in transportation by road;

– establishing a procedure of state oversight during mandatory technical inspection of vehicles in order to guarantee the safety of automobiles on the roads.

 

X. We support consistent continuation of open, mutually beneficial and constructive foreign policy based on national interests!

Step 15. Strengthening the international position of Uzbekistan, actively fostering cooperation and partnership based on equality of rights and shared interests

The PDP firstly supports a proactive foreign policy aiming at forging relationships with the nations of Central Asia and the CIS, based on the values of good neighborliness, regional security, and stability.

In particular, we believe that it is advisable to pay special attention to the implementation of the following:

– maintaining a steady pace of work on Uzbekistan's accession to international documents in the field of human rights; enhancing collaboration with international and regional organizations and foreign countries on human rights issues, including regular dialogues on human rights;

– implementing innovative programs and projects in the fields of regional sustainable social development, alternative energy and modern medicine together with international partners;

– ensuring openness and transparency in the activities of the Agency for external labor migration, increasing the agency's responsibility for social and financial support of those employed overseas and protection of their rights and interests;

– providing assistance in issuing “working visa” to citizens going to foreign countries to work, including the opening of a center for assistance in issuing “working visa” under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

– developing programs on exchange of experience of teachers and students with foreign countries with developed educational system and comprehensive promotion of this system;

– developing inter-parliamentary communication, promoting application of “people's diplomacy” methods in non-governmental organizations, inter-party relations, and in the field of humanitarianism, culture, the arts, science, sports, and tourism;

active use of global information resources to strengthen the international reputation as well as widely promote investment attractiveness of the country.

 

***

In setting these program priorities, the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan intends, in the context of healthy competition with other parties in the country for the support of voters, to seek a worthy place in the forthcoming elections in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, ensuring the creation of an influential parliamentary fraction. At the same time, the PDP of Uzbekistan will fight for the achievement of leading positions in local representative bodies of state power.

This will create necessary opportunity for the implementation of the party's program objectives, with its participation in the work of the representative bodies of state power.

 

We support the well-being of every person!

Vote for the People's Democratic Party for Social Equality!