Alongside its heavy-handed tactics, the government is offering some minor political changes. The constitutional alterations announced at the beginning of March (March 2011, The political scene) may be linked to a desire to pre-empt popular protest against authoritarianism. The changes give more power to parliament at the expense of the presidency, and have been officially portrayed as a "continuation" of the democratisation process in Uzbekistan, although any democratisation that the country has undergone since independence has been limited to the superficial trappings, such as the holding of (flawed) elections. Furthermore, parliament contains only parties that are loyal to the president, so that Mr Karimov will retain de facto control over policymaking.

In addition, the constitution was amended so that the speaker of the Senate (the upper house of parliament) will succeed the president in the event of his incapacity. Previously, the constitution stated that in such an event, parliament would elect a temporary president to serve for three months before a new election. The current speaker of the Senate, who has been in the post since 2006, is Ilgizar Sobirov, from Khorezm province. The constitutional changes therefore suggest instead that Mr Karimov is seeking to ensure the installation of a preferred successor, since, in effect, the appointment of Senate speaker lies in his power, as all political parties in parliament are loyal to him.