Governors can no longer serve simultaneously as local council chairs

It was noted that the new version of the Constitution includes a new provision stating that the chairperson of the Local Council of People's Deputies should be elected from among its deputies in accordance with the law and that a person holding the position of regional, district, or city governor cannot simultaneously hold the position of chairperson of the council. Additionally, in the new constitutional and legal environment, the separation of the positions of governor and local council chairperson necessitates a review and improvement of the current legislation.

A group of deputies in the Legislative Chamber, using their legislative initiative rights, have developed a bill introducing amendments and additions to certain legislative acts of Uzbekistan aimed at improving the powers of governors and local councils.

The bill stipulates the following:
•  The activities of local councils shall be headed by a chairperson elected from among the deputies.
•  The chairperson of the Local Council of People's Deputies cannot be part of permanent and other commissions or party groups while fulfilling their duties.
•  When discussing the candidacy of a governor in council meetings, the candidate must present a development program for the region to the local council deputies.
•  Documents issued by local councils and governors must be registered and uploaded in the Unified Electronic System (e-qaror.gov.uz), and unregistered documents will be considered invalid.

It was noted that the adoption of this bill will enhance the efficiency of local councils and increase the accountability of governors to the representatives of the people.