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Pessimism Looms Over Kyrgyzstan
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Fewer people in Kyrgyzstan are satisfied with the country's direction, according to a poll by Baltic Surveys and the International Republican Institute. 52 per cent of respondents think the former Soviet republic is on the right track, down 10 points since last October.
In 1990, an amendment to the Soviet constitution allowed for the involvement of non-Communist parties in Kyrgyzstan's political arena. The Kyrgyz Communist Party opposed the changes and imposed a state of emergency after ethnic clashes ensued. The legislature eventually picked Askar Akayev—one of the ruling party's reformists—as president.
Akayev served until March 2005, when allegations of fraud in Kyrgyzstan's legislative ballot led to widespread anti-government demonstrations. Four months later, Kurmanbek Bakiyev was elected president with 88.65 per cent of the vote. An amended version of the country's constitution was introduced in November 2006.
On Aug. 3, Feliks Kulov—who served as prime minister from September 2005 to January 2007 and is the current leader of the United Front for a Decent Future for Kyrgyzstan—repeated his call for the creation of a confederation with Russia and other nations, such as Kazakhstan. Kulov explained his rationale, saying, "(This) is not a step leading to the loss of sovereignty. We are not putting forward the objective of becoming part of Russia. The confederation would function as the European Union or another international community."
Last month, Bakiyev rejected Kulov's plan, saying, "As to Kyrgyzstan's possible union with other states, there is no need to raise this issue at the moment. The opposition has put forward the idea to seize attention."
Polling Data
Generally speaking, things in the Kyrgyz Republic are going in the...
May 2007 | Oct. 2006 | Mar. 2006 | |
Right direction | 52% | 62% | 54% |
Wrong direction | 38% | 30% | 37% |
Not sure / No answer | 11% | 8% | 9% |
Source: Baltic Surveys / International Republican Institute
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,500 Kyrgyz adults, conducted from May 6 to May 23, 2007. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
