Starting from March 13, Uzbekistan kicks off the voting phase for citizen budget initiatives on the "Open Budget" portal. The voting will commence on Wednesday night at 00:00 and will last until 23:59 on April 1.
For the first season of 2024, around 3.02 trillion soums are expected to be allocated to fund projects proposed by citizens. According to the "Open Budget" portal, 35,575 initiatives were submitted by residents of 9,443 mahallas, out of which 28,919 have been approved.
Starting from this season, the voting process will implement the "One person, one vote" principle to prevent mass purchase of SIM cards for vote collection.
It was previously announced that from 2024, citizens will be able to propose initiatives through the "Open Budget" portal with a cost of up to 250 million soums for the creation of public parks and gardens.
"GAZETA.UZ" highlighted how the project helps unite people around common initiatives and promotes civic engagement. Matilda Dimovska, former UNDP Resident Representative in Uzbekistan, wrote in her column for "GAZETA.UZ" that participatory budgeting enhances citizens' sense of ownership in problem-solving and improving quality of life.
Participatory budgeting is a form of direct public participation in local governance by proposing initiatives for the expenditure of a certain portion of budget funds.
