Central Asian countries began their journey as sovereign states in the early 1990s with the declaration of commitment to democracy and relevant values. However, it has become obvious today, when Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have been independent for 32 years, that they have failed to get closer to their goals because they have diverged towards authoritarianism.

In the very beginning of their ruling, leaders who came to power, pretended that they followed the democratic principles. But it became clear over the years that they have used their best efforts to reinforce and retain their power for years to come.

Each leader in the region has realized over time – sooner or later – that he/she wants to remain the president and has taken measures to justify the process. Thus, the Constitution has become, even after some time, the victim of the leaders who wanted to legitimate their lust for power.

Uzbekistan has amended the Constitution most often, 15 times. Moreover, the president has changed only once in thirty years because of the death of the first president of the republic Islam Karimov.

The Constitution has been amended in Tajikistan three times, while there have been only three presidents in the country. However, the first two ruled for a short time and at the end of 1992 Emomali Rakhmon headed the country and still remains in office.

According to Emil Dzhuraev, political analyst, Associate Professor of the OSCE Academy, the authoritarian power phenomenon has been of concern to the powers that be of all countries of the world for ages.

"There is nothing unnatural here. Democracy is much younger than the authoritarian power. Unfortunately, in Central Asia we have to see that the elites have used various methods, approaches and instruments all these years [since independence] to strengthen and reinforce their position in power, to extend their term of office, in other words, they become authoritarian," the expert said.

As to the Constitution, according to Dzhuraev, it originally was a kind of a symbolic element in all power structures of the region.

"There were some disputes, discussions, reviews of various versions in the beginning, but every time these countries amended or adopted new Constitution, their main focus was on the concentration of power, various mechanisms and instruments to be amended," the expert said.

He emphasised that today the Constitution in Central Asian states served as a legitimising décor for any authority.

In the meantime, the democracy index in the regional countries has been declining over the years of independence. In 2006, when the index was first published, Kyrgyzstan scored 4 out of 10 possible points, Kazakhstan – 3.62, Tajikistan – 2.45, Uzbekistan – 1.85, and Turkmenistan – 1.83.

By 2022, the index of Kyrgyzstan declined to 3.62, Kazakhstan – 3.08, Tajikistan – 1.94, Turkmenistan – 1.66. In Uzbekistan, the score increased up to 2.12, but could never exceed its maximum score of 2.45, which was recorded in 2014.

As to the press freedom, it has declined significantly in Central Asian states. The states of the region have never ranked high in the World Press Freedom Index.

Moreover, today's situation has significantly deteriorated even in Kyrgyzstan, which was the only country in Central Asia, where journalists felt themselves relatively free and comfortable. Now the national authorities lobby for the media law that is virtually identical to the Russian one. According to the document, all media organisations will have to be re-registered, while anti-corruption investigations will be prohibited. Given that there has been a 'witch hunt' against undesirable journalists and independent media in the last two years in the republic, which have resulted in deportation, incarceration, beatings, blocking of their websites, closing of their outlets – the adoption of the new law will be the final nail in the coffin of the Kyrgyz press freedom.