ELECTORAL PROGRAM OF THE CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN SARVAR SADULLAYEVICH OTAMURATOV

Uzbekistan as a modern state with robust political, economic and social systems has been confidently going along its own path to development. In the years of national independence, wide-ranging reforms were spearheaded in all spheres of life. The sense of civic involvement in the fate of the country has been consolidating in the hearts, minds and thoughts of our people. The weight of civil society institutions has been growing. Essential institutional, legal and other prerequisites are created for political parties, nongovernmental organizations and the media to take active role in nation building. In order to ensure the sustained continuation of reforms built on five principles widely recognized internationally as a guide for action for the advancement of our country and as a dynamic thrust for gracious deeds, we consider it is necessary to bolster the high legal and political culture in the society and secure spiritual upsurge building on extensive experience garnered in independence years, promote economic and social development, and shore up the historical and cultural heritage rich in moral and spiritual values ​​and traditions.

Our goal is to further the idea “Fr om national revival to national prosperity”, and in internal politics to ensure steady enlargement of the economy, cement peace and tranquility in the country, boost the welfare of the people. In foreign policy, it is to protect and promote national interests, preserve and enrich the national cultural, spiritual and moral values, customs and traditions of the people of Uzbekistan.

In order to achieve these noble goals it is necessary to fulfill the following tasks:

I. IN THE SPIRITUAL-ENLIGHTENMENT SPHERE, we believe it is important to consolidate the progress made in this area and promote their further enhancement. Since people with a high sense of self-awareness, who honor their values and traditions, appreciate and preserve historical memory, will achieve progress in economic, social and humanitarian spheres.

We always gave priority to strengthening the national consciousness, sense of national pride and dignity, and therefore such vital issues will be in the focus of our attention in the future. National revival is first and foremost national consciousness. Building on this idea, we support the following:

— careful preservation and augmentation of the unique and great historical, cultural and intellectual heritage, traditions of our people, together with wide-scale popularization of their achievements among the younger generation. Protection of national interests and national values is our principal objective;

— detached and systematic study of the history of our people in line with principle “A nation oblivious to its own history has no future”. When evaluating the past and present of the Uzbek people, to ensure disavowal of unilateral approaches and subjectivity, counter the falsification of facts and distortion of the history of Uzbekistan;

— complete stocktaking of cultural heritage, improvement of the works in this direction, organization of comprehensive categorization of sites possessing the characteristics of cultural heritage, of artifacts, collections and archive documents stored in museums, archives, libraries and other premises, perfection of corresponding legislation;

— considering the global importance of the historical and cultural legacy and monuments of the Uzbek people implementation of effective measures for the preservation of national identity of our cities, including the adoption and realization of government programs aimed at promoting respect for the architectural monuments and their restoration, inclusion of monuments in the UNESCO World Heritage List;

— organization of the fund for reconstruction and overhaul of the material and cultural heritage through taxes and mandatory payments paid by business entities engaged in tourism activities

— in collaboration with relevant organizations actively strive for returning the scientific and artistic works related to the history of our people and created by our academics, thinkers, writers, poets, as well as valuables stored in libraries, archives and museums in foreign countries to Uzbekistan;

— further encourage the revival and development of national crafts, preservation of the traditions of national art school, which, in their turn, represent the high culture and craftsmanship of the Uzbek people and are distinct with high aesthetic quality;

— in line with the principle “The comprehensively advanced generation is the backbone of the nation” and in order to protect the consciousness of the younger generation fr om the harmful influence of mass culture alien to our people, implant the idea of national revival in their hearts and minds, and education in the spirit of respect for national values. At the same time, our primary goal is to assist in the creation and promotion of new products in cinematography, theatrical and pop art describing with the help of artistic images the rich and unique history, culture, traditions and the best customs of our people;

— develop a set of measures aimed at the further development of the state language, which has a long and rich history and been revived thanks to the national independence, and that meets the requirements of all spheres of modern development in the period of globalization. To enhance the quality and purity of language, reinforce its status as state language and achieve full compliance with its requirements together with further enhancement of linguistic culture;

— secure full-fledged use of the Uzbek language in basic science as well as in the field of modern information and communication technologies, banking and finance, law, diplomacy, military affairs and other extremely important sectors, which requires the creation of modern textbooks, etymological and comparative dictionaries, system development terms, phrases, concepts and categories. We plan to establish a special commission in this area;

— develop and implement measures aimed at preventing violations of the rules and regulations of the Uzbek literary language in the media, as well as in the content of news reports, outdoor advertising and commercials placed in public places above the roadway of streets and roads;

— for maximum satisfaction of educational and spiritual needs of the younger generation, cover all areas of science, education, literature and the press – to significantly boost the publication of books, newspapers and magazines in Uzbek in the Latin script;

— develop and realize projects based on the promotion of national qualities as generosity, hospitality, mutual respect, tolerance, kindness, charity, which serve for the spiritual development of our people and consolidation of stability in society;

— internationally promote the successes and achievements of the people of Uzbekistan in culture and arts, creation of films narrating the lives and works of great scientists, figures of culture, literature and arts, great statesmen and military commanders, who were born, lived and worked in the territory of modern Uzbekistan and made a significant contribution to the advancement of world civilization. Search for sources of funding these efforts. Attract foreign film studios, celebrated directors and actors, promote those films in the international community;

— establish and bolster spiritual-enlightenment centers that contribute to raising the spiritual-ethical standards, especially among young people, enhance the information-rich library stock of the Alisher Navoi National Library;

— identify and improve the burial places of our great scientists and thinkers who were born and raised in this land, but lived and worked in foreign countries and found eternal rest there;

— taking advantage of the capacities of social sciences and humanities in the advancement of the country and the formation of younger generation’s world outlook – to support publication and popularization of fundamental works in this field with an eye to their importance in the education of youth in the spirit of patriotism, national consciousness and universal values, and formation of ideological immunity in them fr om the ideas and ideologies contradicting the national interests;

— foster the young generation in the society, family and the educational system in the spirit of love and respect for the book. Delivery of economic incentives, provision of tax and other preferences to authors of works, printing houses, publishers producing books on the history, spiritual and cultural heritage of the people of Uzbekistan;

— further enrich the spiritual world and cultural enlightenment of children, create conditions necessary for them to be informed about the best samples of national and world musical culture;

— profound study of not only the national music, but also many other areas of world music, secure the participation and triumph of our singers and musicians, especially young ones, in prestigious international competitions and festivals.

We stand for the further development of our spiritual-enlightenment life. In this regard, for the spectators to return to theaters, it is important first and foremost to increase the number of performances staged at a high artistic level and dealing with topics contemporaries are concerned, bolster the theatrical culture of the population, especially young people, and, in pursuing this important goal, organize Open Days in all theaters of the country;

— on the basis of such family traditions of our people as respecting and honoring the elders, mutual consent, child care – to extensively assist the endeavors to strengthen the institution of the family and family values, boost care for young families, provide them with legal and social protection, deliver conditions necessary to shore up the number of healthy and strong families;

— actively contribute to efforts aimed at preventing downbeat phenomena still present in family life (like holding pompous wedding parties and other wasteful events).

II. IN THE POLITICAL AND JUDICIAL SPHERES, embodying the statehood traditions developed in our country and people for centuries, civil society and in the years of independence, as well as modern democratic values, expressing the rights and interests of citizens, we will implement the following tasks in the political and judicial sphere:

— further consolidation of the current political system, priorities of the national idea, spiritual and moral foundations of our society. Our main goal is to build a modern advanced democratic state;

— cement the atmosphere of tolerance prevailing in the society, cohesion and solidarity of all citizens of Uzbekistan, regardless of ethnic origin, religion, social status and background;

— further improvement of mahalla as the national democratic institution – historically based on noble and progressive traditions of the Uzbek people, strengthening its institutional and economic framework, its role in ensuring the direct participation of citizens in matters of local importance, as well as the revival and enrichment of national and spiritual values, local customs and traditions;

— boost the legal awareness and law culture of the population to secure firm stability and supremacy of law in society. In this regard, the adoption of systematic and coherent set of measures aimed at further improving the system of law education in the country, development of continuous study of the Constitution and the foundations of human rights and democracy;

— On the basis of national values, skills and traditions – the development of pre-trial settlement system of disputes concerning family, inheritance, housing and other domestic issues, also by seeking compromise and reconciliation between the parties for the peaceful resolution of all conflicts, as well as by strengthening the role of the mahalla, guardianship institutions and non-profit organizations.

III. The motto of our party in the economic sphere is “SPIRITUAL REVIVAL OF THE PEOPLE IS THE BASIS OF ECONOMIC REFORMS”. On this front we will further the following goals:

— using the approach to economic development built on the requirements and trends of the 21st century – augmentation of the efficiency of national manufacturing industry through its technical and technological modernization, reduction of non-productive costs, introduction of new technologies, and provision of benefits for taxes and obligatory payments for prospective industries operating in various regions of the country;

— formation of competitive transnational companies, which will become a symbol of our national economy, secure the adoption of systemic and targeted measures to promote products labeled "Made in Uzbekistan" in world markets through the effective support of domestic manufacturers that produce import-substituting goods, likewise by reducing tax burden, applying customs privileges and preferences, special grants and other forms of government support;

— balanced development of the capital city and regions, towns and villages of the nation, prevent some territorial disparities in economic and social development;

— deriving fr om the difficult geographical location of Uzbekistan as a landlocked country and poor logistics infrastructure – elaboration of programs aimed at providing forwarding companies with tax incentives and preferences in order to increase the export potential of our country and reduce the domestic cost of production on the external market, advance and enlarge the system of leasing heavy vehicles;

— protection of the national market from the penetration of goods (works, services) of low quality that do not meet international standards, and consolidation of the legal foundations of favorable and attractive investment climate;

— satisfaction of the needs of our people, especially youth, for modern and high-quality clothing of domestic production, enlargement of the number of textile enterprises of modern and mobile nature, support for the introduction of modern technologies with deep processing of local raw materials;

— amplification of the efficiency of state-owned companies and enterprises with dominant share of the state by providing for transparency of financial and economic activity;

— comprehensive support for growth in the influx of domestic private investment in the national economy;

— realizing that the advancement of the national economy depends on highly qualified professionals – the radical consolidation of the system of training technicians, engineers, finance experts, economists and managers in corporate governance, programmers with advanced knowledge and skills, accumulation of support for talented youth studying in foregoing areas.

Uzbekistan is known to have a long history and unique cultural and historical heritage. All of these allow us to develop the enormous potential of the tourism industry and turn the country into one of the world centers of travel industry.

Tourism as a factor that accelerates the development of the economy and plays an important role in solving economic and social problems, which makes it possible to create additional workplaces, secure employment for the economically active population, improve the welfare of the nation, and which has a stimulating effect on the development of many related fields of economic activity and infrastructure. Moreover, tourism is also a powerful tool for education and formation of the spiritual foundations of civil society.

This said, we propose the implementation of a comprehensive plan of measures, including the following issues:

— provide for further development of the travel infrastructure, availability of tourist facilities, convenience of transportation systems, hospitality and tourism logistics, introduction of modern information technologies to the various areas of the tourism industry;

— improve the quality of services offered to the facilities of tourist activity, international airports and train stations, as a major factor in maintaining the international prestige and attractiveness of our country bоth for foreign guests and locals;

— create all necessary conditions for extensive enlargement of active forms of tourism, provide with a range of travels to the unique nature conservation areas, including ecotourism.

IV. Bolstering the living standards is our strategic aim IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE. In this respect, we consider the following as the priority tasks:

— adoption of a government program designed to provide for food safety, pressing as it is today across the entire world, inclusion of the issue of expanding the diet of the population in it, increase the volumes of domestically produced quality and safe foodstuffs, lim it the use of genetic modification methods in the production of foodstuffs, and also raise the population’s feeding culture;

— elaboration of concrete and effective measures to prevent early marriages and early childbirths, bolster agitation and propaganda work in this direction, public inspection, as well as form a sense of intolerance to early marriages among population;

— delivery of networks of schools of political leaders contributing to the development of leadership skills among women in society, reinforcement of women’s participation in governance;

— maintenance of the nation’s gene pool and nurturing healthy generation, prohibition of sale of insalubrious power drinks to teenagers and boost the education and awareness raising activity in this direction. Consequent realization of the principle “Strong is the country wh ere people are healthy and comprehensively advanced!”;

— usage in construction and design work of the traditions of national architecture and advanced foreign experience, assistance in the realization of major projects on restoration of historical cities and «museums under open sky";

— improvement of the systems of passenger transport, including in the remote and difficult-to-access districts of the country, providing for a favorable transport passage for students of professional colleges and academic lyceums;

— creation of organizational and legal conditions for the expansion of self-employment of the electoral part of population, first of all women and young people, through the development of crafts, domestic enterprise and work at home;

— further perfection of legislation to strengthen the family and family values. Consistent continuation of large-scale works to raise care for young families;

— in order to further improve the architectural appearance of our cities, to prevent violations in all regions of our country, especially in multi-storey buildings, norms and rules of technical operation of the housing stock – the establishment of effective state control over observance of housing legislation;

— enlargement of budget expenditures to the development of cultural institutions, children’s centers "Barkamol Avlod", music and art schools, including those in remote rural areas;

— assistance in the formation of highly intelligent society through the introduction of modern advanced scientific achievements in the educational process, further development of national science, attraction of talented, gifted young people to scientific research;

— revitalization of the institution of mahalla in addressing issues related to the spiritual and moral enlightenment of citizens, children and young people, in creating new jobs, increasing the efficiency of work in the social sphere, improving public security and law enforcement on the ground;

— consistent continuation of effective assistance to children, women and persons suffering from serious diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV / AIDS), strengthen parliamentary and public control over the observance of their legitimate rights and interests.

V. Given that the 21st century has been marked as the age of information, important IN THE INFORMATION SPHERE becomes comprehensive support for the realization of a long-term strategy for the development of national information and communication sector, designed to ensure the national interests and preserve the cultural identity of the nation. To achieve this, the following issues are pressing:

— addressing the challenge of the development of national information systems and national information resources, ensuring national information security. Improving the national information space, which is a solid foundation for development, achieving its continuous improvement;

— ensuring a high level of public access, particularly in rural areas, to information;

— working out national information systems and national information resources, integrating inter-agency systems and information systems, particularly in the development of the national segment of the internet;

— delivering a creative information environment, effective information-educational atmosphere in order to attract young people to it, protecting children from information harmful to their physical, spiritual and moral development;

— bolstering the information support for the formation and advancement of the national idea in public consciousness, widespread and profound affirmation in the minds and in the spiritual world of every citizen of our main goal to build a free and prosperous life in the country.

VI. One of the priorities is the development of all types of sports, especially the Olympic and national sports, based on the maxim “NOTHING CAN BE SO EFFECTIVE TO GLORIFY A NATION THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AS SPORTS”.

At the same time, there needs to be a system of sports promotion by the example of the tremendous success of Uzbek athletes on the world stage, which serves for boosting the pride of the nation, fostering youth in the spirit of patriotism and cohesion of the people in the name of a common goal, furthering the efforts to create documentary and feature films, scientific popular works about the life and activities of athletes, which are the pride of our homeland.

Following the principle “Strong is a country wh ere children are healthy and harmoniously developed”, all-round promotion of children’s sport, which has acquired the status of national objective in our country, to create favorable conditions for extensive involvement of children and young people in regular exercises and sports.

Supporting the further development of the three-tier system of mass attraction of children and young people to sports – the contests "Umid Nihollari", "Barkamol Avlod" and the Universiade, and the participation of students in international tournament.

Comprehensive consolidation of relations with the International Kurash Association, international and national Olympic committees in the inclusion of kurash, embodying national values, courage and boldness, ideas of patriotism and humanism, into the list of Olympic Games, given that the number of federations worldwide on this sport is already about 130.

VII. IN THE FOREIGN POLITICAL ACTIVITY, we support the peace-loving policy of Uzbekistan that does not participate in military-political blocs, and we believe that the key objectives of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy are furthered today in thorny conditions, in a situation wh ere threats to security and stability in the region are still pressing.

The rich historical heritage of Uzbekistan, its spiritual and moral traditions and values, an invaluable contribution to the world culture became the main and important factor in the formation of the republic as an equal actor of contemporary international relations, to pursue active foreign policy and foreign economic activity.

We believe an important task is the implementation of activities to further enhance the international prestige and standing of Uzbekistan – the land of great scholars and thinkers, which has an enormous and unique natural resources, economic and intellectual potential.

In carrying out effective foreign policy we support the following objectives set out in the party’s election program:

— resolute defense of national interests as part of the activities of foreign affairs ministry and other government bodies. Our motto is: the national interests are above everything else;

— extensive promotion of the achievements of culture and arts of the people of Uzbekistan, the formation of Uzbekistan’s positive image in the international arena;

— development of international cooperation to ensure the full protection of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of citizens and corporate entities of the Republic of Uzbekistan in foreign countries;

— effective response to the information expansion from other states;

— broad diversification of economic, technological, transport and other relations of Uzbekistan in order to reduce dependence on individual partners or groups of countries;

— consolidation of our country’s international image as a reliable, responsible political and trade-economic partner;

— revival of the ancient cross-border route in the history of civilization - the Great Silk Road, which unites the East and West, and has become a milestone in the institutional enlargement and enhancement of economic, political, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, as well as the promotion of the robust brand of the "Great Silk Road".

Our principal idea is selfless service to Uzbekistan’s national interests with the employment of all our energy and the potential for the further consolidation of peace and harmony, sustainable economic development, elevation of people’s well-being and the prosperity of the Motherland.

Our uniting goal and priority is the interests of Uzbekistan and once again the interests of Uzbekistan.

Republican Press Center for Covering the
Elections of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

www.elections.uz