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Uzbekistan
Women in decision-making positions
No data on number of women in elected local deliberative bodies
No woman is Head of State/Government
38%
Parliamentarians are women
5%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Spheres of government

Uzbekistan is a unitary republic with three spheres of government: central, intermediate (the Republic of Karakalpakstan), and local.

One tier of central government; one tier of partial intermediate government (Republic of Karakalpakstan); and one or two tiers of local government.

  • Head of State: The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The Prime Minister is a nominee of the of the political party which gains the largest number of seats in the Legislative Chamber election, as nominated by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for a vote of approval by the Oliy Majlis.
  • Legislative body: The Oliy Majlis is a bicameral legislature, with an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the Legislative Chamber). The Senate is composed of members elected by and from amongst sub-national representative bodies and members appointed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Members of the Legislative Chamber are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet of Ministers consists of the Prime Minister, deputy prime ministers, ministers, chairpersons of state committees, and the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The members of the Cabinet of Ministers are proposed by the Prime Minister to be approved and appointed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

  • Legislative body: The Supreme Council (Jokargi Kenes) of the Republic of Karakalpakstan is a unicameral legislature. Members of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Karakalpakstan are directly elected by voters of the Republic of Karakalpakstan.
  • Executive body: The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan is composed of the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers and members recommended by the Chairperson to be appointed by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Karakalpakstan.

  • Organization: Local government is organized into two tiers: an upper tier of regional-level local government units (including the City of Tashkent (Toshkent shahri) and 12 regions (viloyatlar)), and a lower tier of district-level local government units (including 11 Tashkent city districts (Toshkent shahrining tumanlari), 157 districts (tumanlar), and 25 cities (shaharlar)). 14 districts and one city (the City of Nukus) are within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and are included as part of the district-level local government units.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for issuing local acts, managing its own property and assets, levying local taxes, and adopting the local budget.
  • Ministerial oversight: The Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for central government oversight of local government.

Overview of local government

Local government composition

Deliberative body: The council of people’s deputies (xalq deputatlari kengashi) is composed of a maximum of 60 elected members. The governor (khokim) presides over the council; the governor is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The governor, appointed with approval by the council of people’s deputies, is the executive of the regional level of government.

Deliberative body: The council of people’s deputies (xalq deputatlari kengashi) is composed of a maximum of 30 elected members. The governor (khokim) presides over the council; the governor is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The governor, appointed with approval by the council of people’s deputies, is the executive of the district level of government.

Local government elections

Electoral system for deliberative bodies: majority/plurality (two-round system)

  • Each local government area is divided into single-member constituencies. Candidates who obtain more than half of votes cast in their respective constituency are elected. If no candidate obtains half the votes, a second round is held with the two candidates who obtained the highest number of votes in the first round. The candidate who then obtains the most votes is declared elected. The election is considered invalid if less than 33% of total registered voters cast their vote.

Electoral system for executive bodies: no direct elections

  • Heads of executive bodies are appointed.

Source: Election Code, 2019 (amended through 2021), articles 9, 55, 59, 88 and 96

Gender quotas: Legislated candidate quotas, sanctions

  • At least 30% of candidates nominated by each political party must be women.
  • The region, sub-region, or city election commission notifies the head of the respective political party of the discrepancies between the requirements of the Election Code and the documents submitted for registration. The political party has the right to correct the discrepancies in the registration documents within two days and submit them to the respective election commission.

Additional quotas: No

Source: Election Code, 2019 (amended through 2021), articles 91 and 92

  • Term length: 5 years
  • Last local elections: 2019
  • Next local elections: 2024

Central Election Commission; regional, sub-regional, or city election commission

National legal framework on local government

  • Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 1992 (amended through 2021);
  • Constitution of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, 1993 (amended through 2019);
  • Election Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2019 (amended through 2021);
  • Law on the Election of the Chairperson (the Aksakal) of the Citizens' Meeting, 2018 (amended through 2021);
  • Law on Self-Government Bodies of Citizens, 1993 (amended through 2021).

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in Uzbekistan. According to Sections 99 and 100 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan of 1992 (amended through 2021), “In regions, districts and cities (except for the cities subordinate to the district), the Councils of People's Deputies, headed by governors, are representative bodies of power, which decide issues within their competence in the interests of the state and citizens. Local authorities have the following competencies: enforcing the law and ensuring the order and the security of citizens; the economic, social and cultural development of the regions; formation and execution of the local budget, setting local taxes, levies, creation of extra-budgetary funds; management of local utilities; environmental protection; ensuring the registration of civil status acts; adoption of normative acts and exercise of other powers not contradicting the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Oliy Majlis is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key piece of legislation which regulates local government is the Law on Self-Government Bodies of Citizens of 1993 (amended through 2021). According to Articles 3 to 5 of the Law on Self-Government Bodies of Citizens of 1993, “Citizens' self-government is an independent activity guaranteed by law based on the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Citizens exercise their constitutional right to self-government through citizens' assemblies (meetings of citizens' representatives) in accordance with the guarantees of citizens' suffrage. The main principles of the activities of citizens' self-government bodies are the rule of law, human rights, freedoms and legitimate interests, democracy, transparency, social justice, independence in resolving issues of local importance, community-based mutual assistance, social partnership, and local traditions -taking into account customs and traditions.”

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2025.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 1 December 2025.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2025.

4. UN Women: Data on share of women Cabinet ministers as of 1 January 2025.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.