The adoption by Uzbekistan of the Concept of further deepening democratic reforms and formation of civil society is a logical continuation of the reforms aimed at democratic renewal and modernization of the country, initiated after proclamation of independence, which is almost 20 years ago.

Uzbekistan has chosen this path of building a democratic state with a socially oriented market economy and forming a civil society, carrying out reforms on the basis of its own "Uzbek model" of development, based on the known five principles. These are deideologization of the economy and its priority over politics, making the state the main reformer, ensuring the rule of law, implementation of strong social policy, and consistency of the reforms.

This model by itself had stemmed from the course of development of the country and had been motivated primarily by the complex situation that emerged after the Soviet Union's collapse, when it was necessary to prevent the consequences of the complete destruction of the existing economic ties, to prevent catastrophic economic recession and rising unemployment, and to establish independent government institutions in a short period of time.

In the process of transition from the administrative-command to market-based economic management system Uzbekistan declined various revolutionary models of reform, "shock therapy" methods and deceptive impressions about the self-regulating market economy, sticking to the principles "Do not destroy the old house before building a new one", and "Reform are not for the sake of reforms, but for the people".

All this has allowed to ensure a gradual and cardinal change and renewal of the government and constitutional system, to create a solid and reliable foundation for sustainable and dynamic development of the national economy, political system, civil society, consistent improvement of living standards, and political and legal culture of the people.

The expenses of the state for social protection per capita have grown more than 5 times over the last years. Each year, about 60% of the state budget goes to health, education, communal sphere and other areas related to social protection. The average life expectancy over this period has increased from 67 to 73 years, maternal mortality rates have declined more than 2 times and children's mortality 3 times.

Everything that has been done over the years of independence is only the beginning of a long and difficult path to a long-term goal the society and the state are facing, which is bringing the country to the list of the modern developed and democratic states, ensuring decent conditions for people's living and securing a worthy place in the world community. The very logic and nature of the country's development and the goal that has been set require to continue democratic reforms. At that, one should not give in to the euphoria and the sense of complacency, for this can cause huge irreparable damage to the progressive development of society and the image of the country.

All this has become the reason for the adoption of the Concept of further deepening democratic reforms and formation of civil society, which, in essence, is the program for further continuation of the modernization of the country at the fundamentally new stage of development of the state and society.

We have to continue reforms aimed at consistent and systematic implementation of the constitutional principle of separation of powers, creation of effective mechanisms of checks and balances among them, coordinated functioning and cooperation in achieving tasks before the state and society.

In accordance with the Concept, changes and additions have been made to certain articles of the Constitution, giving the political party with the most seats in the Legislative Chamber the right to propose the candidacy of the Prime Minister, introducing the institution of the no confidence vote to Prime Minister, the right of parliament to hear reports of the head of the government on topical issues of socioeconomic development, and several other principal innovations.

These changes will facilitate the creation of the legislative bases for further deep reform of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, strengthening the role of the parliament in the state and political system, create conditions for further increasing the role of political parties in the formation of executive bodies and implementation of parliamentary control over their activity, as well as significant increase of the political and inter-party competition.

In the field of democratic reforming of the information sphere, ensuring freedom of expression and information, it is planned to implement wide-scale tasks to ensure the openness of state authorities, strengthen independence and economic sustainability of the media, introduce market mechanisms and modern information and communication technologies. A number of other measures aimed at a more complete realization of the citizens' constitutional rights to freedom of speech and transparency of the implemented reforms is planned.

In accordance with the Concept, it is planned to develop and implement a set of measures for further democratization of the independent electoral system in the country, ensure freedom of choice and develop electoral law.