Uzbek parliament extends debate on constitutional amendments till July 15

TASHKENT. July 4 (Interfax) - The Legislative Chamber of the Uzbek parliament voted on Monday to extend the nationwide discussion of draft amendments to the Uzbek constitution by ten days to July 15, the chamber's press service said.

"The parliamentarians have voted unanimously for extending the timeframe of the nationwide debate on the bill amending the Constitution to July 15," it said.

The parliamentarians rationalized the decision by the people's high activity in expressing their opinions regarding the constitutional bill.

"The increasing number of incoming proposals necessitates extending the period of the nationwide discussion," it said.

The draft legislation "On Amending the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan" was published earlier on June 25 in parliamentary news outlets for public debate.

Under a parliamentary resolution, the bill is to be discussed by the public until July 5 and then will be proposed for referendum. The draft law envisages more than 200 amendments to 64 articles of the Uzbek Constitution. Among them is a new phrasing, which says, "The Republic of Karakalpakstan is a part of the Republic of Uzbekistan. All rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution and laws of Uzbekistan are guaranteed in the Republic of Karakalpakstan." The current constitution defines Karakalpakstan as a sovereign republic with the right to secede based on a referendum.

The current constitution was adopted by Uzbekistan's Supreme Council on December 8, 1992, and has since been amended 15 times. On Saturday, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited the city of Nukus, the capital of the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan in the country's northwest, where disturbances took place on Friday.

Mirziyoyev said the bill amending the constitution would be finalized following nationwide debates and only then put to a referendum.