PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER REPLACED BY FEMALE

C O N F I D E N T I A L TASHKENT 000091 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/23/2018 TAGS: PGOV KWMN PHUM PINR UZ SUBJECT: PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER REPLACED BY FEMALE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE REF: 07 TASHKENT 1855 Classified By: POLOFF R. FITZMAURICE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D) ¶1. (C) Summary: According to government sources, Parliament Speaker Erkin Khalilov has been replaced by Dilorom Toshmuhammadova, the leader of the pro-government Adolat Social-Democratic party and one of the four officially-recognized presidential candidates who participated in the December 2007 election. Toshmuhammadova is the first female Parliament Speaker, the highest government rank ever held by a woman in Uzbekistan. An independent website also reported that First Deputy Internal Affairs Minister Gairat Kadyrov was fired on January 22, most likely as part of a continuing post-election government shakeup. Toshmuhammadova's elevation to Parliamentary Speaker signals that the other two official presidential candidates who unsuccessfully ran against President Karimov could be promoted, rather than demoted, as observers had earlier anticipated. Her promotion also may pave the way for other women to be given high-level GOU postings. End summary. KHALILOV FIRED; NEW FEMALE SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT -------------- --- ¶2. (C) On January 23, Human Rights Ombudsman Chief of Staff Maruf Usmanov told political specialist FSN that Oliy Majlis (lower house of Parliament) Speaker Erkin Khalilov was replaced by Dilorom Toshmuhammadova, the leader of the pro-government Adolat Social-Democratic party and one of the officially-recognized presidential candidates who participated in the December 2007 election (Note: Toshmuhammadova came in third out of a total of four candidates, receiving 2.94 percent of the vote. End Note.) The information was confirmed by a government-affiliated journalist who spoke with public affairs FSN on January 23. Toshmuhammadova is the first female Speaker of Parliament, the highest government rank ever held by a woman in Uzbekistan. Usmanov has generally been a reliable Embassy contact on internal governmental affairs. OTHER GOVERNMENT SHUFFLING REPORTED -------------- ¶3. (C) The independent Uzmetronom web site reported that Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) First Deputy Minister Gairat Kadyrov was fired at a Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) meeting on January 22. A replacement was not announced. The article further speculated that MVD Minister Bakhodyr Matlyubov would also soon be relieved of his position. Uzmetronom editor Sergei Yezhkov has admitted maintaining contact with the National Security Service, and his reporting on internal government changes has been generally reliable in the past. COMMENT -------------- ¶4. (C) Toshmuhammadova's elevation to Parliamentary Speaker is an interesting phenomenon on several fronts. Before the election, it was widely believed that each of the officially-recognized candidates "contesting" the election with Karimov would eventually be demoted and fade into obscurity, as had Abdulhasiz Jalilov, who faced Karimov in the last presidential election in 2000. In this case, though, it appears that Toshmuhammadova was rewarded for her participation in the election with a promotion. It is therefore possible that the other two unsuccessful presidential candidates, People's Democratic Party Leader Asliddin Rustamov and National Human Rights Center Director Akmal Saidov, will also be promoted in the evolving post-election government shakeup. Indeed, before calling back public affairs FSN to confirm that Toshmuhammadova was made speaker, the government journalist at first speculated that Saidov would be made the new Parliamentary Speaker. ¶5. (C) Along with already being the first female leader of a Parliamentary faction and the first female candidate for president, Toshmuhammadova is now the first female Parliamentary Speaker. During the election, some observers alleged that Toshmuhammadova was chosen as a candidate in order to soften Uzbek society, which remains highly patriarchal, up to the possibility of having a female president, thus paving the way for a more serious female presidential candidate down the line (namely Gulnora Karimova, the President's eldest daughter). While this remains pure speculation, interestingly enough, another rumor currently floating around Tashkent is that Karimova will soon be granted a high-level position in the government, possibly at the minister or deputy minister level. NORLAND