Uzbekistan holds a semi-serious election

FOR THE past 100 years, first under communism, then under an exceptionally vicious dictatorship, Uzbekistan’s parliament has been toothless, always pandering to the man in charge—in Moscow or, since independence in 1991, in Tashkent, the Central Asian state’s capital. But as Uzbeks go to the polls on December 22nd, Bobur Bekmurodov, a candidate who has been running a government-backed movement to promote reform, says it is time for the parliament to “grow teeth”. If he wins a seat, he says, he will try to make local government more accountable and let civil society breathe more freely. That is fighting talk in a country that long trembled under the lash of Islam Karimov, who, after serving the Kremlin loyally for many years, tyrannised the independent country until his death in 2016. Since then his successor, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has astonished and delighted his citizens with his enthusiasm for reform. The question now is how far and how fast he will dare to go.

Mr Mirziyoyev’s reforms have so far centred on the economy, which he has set about liberalising with gusto. The main political change to date has been to lock up far fewer people for their opinions, although life remains difficult for some journalists and bloggers. Mr Bekmurodov, who is 34, would “absolutely not” have stood for parliament in the old days, but sees an opportunity for change. He is not, however, a member of an opposition party, because no such thing yet exists in this country of 33m people, and independents are barred from standing. Mr Bekmurodov is on the ticket of the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party, the outgoing parliament’s largest force and the closest thing Uzbekistan has to a ruling party. Mr Mirziyoyev, supposedly above the political fray, says he supports no candidates and no party.