On April 4th, the voting for the "Participatory Budgeting" projects for the first season of 2024 concluded on the "Open Budget" portal. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Uzbekistan residents cast 11.7 million votes, significantly fewer than the record-breaking 18.1 million votes in the previous season due to the implementation of the "One person, one vote" principle.
Residents from 9443 mahallas submitted 35575 initiatives, with 28919 of them approved. Winners were selected from 2770 projects in 2254 mahallas (compared to 1187 in the previous season). A total of 3.3 trillion soums from local budgets are planned for their implementation, an increase from 1.31 trillion soums in the past.
Additionally, the ministry is reviewing projects in the Kyzyltepa district, where earlier the district hokim Ulmas Istamov had forced organization leaders to gather votes. Due to this issue, winners in this district will be announced after further examination.
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Jamshid Kuchkarov congratulated the winners and thanked citizens for their active participation. "Gazeta.uz" highlighted how the project helps unite people around common initiatives and promotes civic engagement.
Former UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan Matilda Dimovska, in her column for "Gazeta.uz," wrote that participatory budgeting enhances citizens' sense of ownership in problem-solving and improving quality of life.
Participatory budgeting is a form of direct citizen participation in local governance by proposing initiatives for the allocation of a specific portion of budget funds. This practice is widespread in many countries, including the USA, Brazil, and South Korea.
