Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party

The Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party (UzLiDeP) (, OʻzLiDeP) is a political party in Uzbekistan and the country's ruling party. The four other parties in the Oliy Majlis, Uzbekistan's parliament, are pro-government. History The party was founded in 2003 by Islam Karimov as a split from People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, which was led by Karimov from 1991 to until 1996, at which point Karimov stepped down and resigned his membership. Despite self-identifying with different ideologies, the parties are seen as no different from each other, with the Uzbekistan Liberal Democratic Party being created to give an illusion of a competitive multi-party system; this is supported by the fact that the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan remained supportive of Karimov's policies and retained his favor. Ideology As the party of the middle class and private property owners, as well as businesspeople, farmers, and the service sector, it promotes economic liberalism and economic liberalization, having liberalized the foreign currency market. The party is nominally liberal and promotes liberal democratic values; however, its liberal practice on economic issues has not been reflected in practice at the political level, as it has ruled an authoritarian state, despite reforms following the death of long-time leader Islam Karimov in 2016.