The President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, told lawmakers yesterday that he wants to “revive the opposition”.

Mirziyoyev leader was reportedly addressing the chamber's 150 lawmakers -- all of whom broadly support him -- elected in a parliamentary ballot at the end of October.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev, speaking at the first session of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (the country's parliament) of the new convocation, stated that it is necessary to revive the opposition within parliament.  The remarks were shared by his spokesman, Sherzod Asadov, according to Fergana News.

In this regard, the president reportedly proposed increasing the guaranteed rights of the opposition from three to six. He also suggested allocating one chairperson position of a parliamentary committee and two deputy positions in parliamentary committees to representatives of opposition parties.

According to Asadov, Mirziyoyev emphasized that if healthy competition and the clash of opposing views transition from elections into the walls of the Legislative Chamber, this will undoubtedly contribute to drafting laws that serve the interests of the people.

The Uzbek leader said he would allow “opposition MPs to ask at least one question as part of questions to the government once every three months”, Asadov noted.

Since coming to power in 2016, Shavkat Mirziyoyev has cast himself as a reformer, seeking to liberalize and open up Uzbekistan, particularly on the economic front.

But critics have expressed skepticism over his agenda and reformist credentials.  The rights groups say Uzbekistan is still deeply authoritarian, with the OSCE saying last month that "significant challenges remain in the realization of fundamental freedoms".

According to Reporters without Borders, Uzbekistan’s press freedom index — which saw a short period of improvement following Mirziyoyev’s election — has fallen back to a level similar to that of the last years of Karimov’s rule.