Election Tracker
Archive Search
Kyrgyzstan
At stake: President
Background
In 1990, an amendment to the Soviet constitution allowed for the involvement of non-Communist parties in the 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.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan achieved its independence in 1991. Akayev won an election unopposed and remained as head of state. In 1993, the country drafted its first post-Soviet constitution, which established legislative elections. In 1995, Akayev was re-elected as president, with more than 70 per cent of all cast ballots.
A year later, new constitutional amendments were instituted after a referendum, consolidating presidential powers in Kyrgyzstan. Akayev would be re-elected again in 2000, in a presidential ballot criticized by international observers. Kyrgyzstan is strategically important for the United States and Russia. Both countries have military bases there.
In 2002, a crackdown on opposition figures saw the arrest of lawmaker Azimbek Beknazarov and the death of human rights activist Sherali Nazarkulov after a hunger strike. Ar-Namys (Dignity) party leader Feliks Kulov—who had been arrested in 2000 for alleged abuse of office—was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In March 2002, protesters demanding the release of Beknazarov clashed with police in Jalal-Abad, resulting in five deaths. In May, a special commission found top-level officials were responsible for the violent incident. Prime minister Kurmanbek Bakiyev resigned and was replaced by Nikolai Tanayev. Beknazarov was released in May, but another demonstration took place six months later in Bishkek, calling for Akayev’s resignation.
In February 2003, a new government-sponsored plebiscite cleared the way for fresh constitutional amendments, meant to allow the legislative branch to play a more active role in political life. In June, the Legislative Assembly granted the president immunity from prosecution.
The 2005 parliamentary election led to allegations of fraud and widespread protests all over the country. Weeks of tension ended with Akayev’s resignation on Apr. 11.
Click here for Kyrgyzstan 2005 Supreme Council Election Tracker
That same year, Akayev’s daughter Bermet returned to the country and took her seat in the legislative branch.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev —who was appointed as acting president and prime minister following the political crisis—won the snap presidential election that took place on Jul. 10 with 88.65 per cent of the vote. Bakiyev was head of the People’s Movement of Kyrgyzstan (NDK) and had participated in several anti-government demonstrations.
The events that led to Bakiyev’s presidency are widely known as the Tulip Revolution.
Click here for Kyrgyzstan 2005 Presidential Election Tracker
On Jul. 12, Bakiyev appointed Ar-Namys (Dignity) party leader Feliks Kulov as acting first deputy prime minister. The president was officially inaugurated on Aug. 14. Kulov had just recently been released from prison.
Throughout 2006, several anti-corruption demonstrations took place in Kyrgyzstan.
On Nov. 9, Bakiyev signed a new Constitution into law. The new Charter, which sought to limit presidential powers, continued to be under scrutiny for the following months.
On Dec. 19, the entire cabinet resigned, including prime minister Kulov. Just days later, parliament introduced new constitutional reforms restoring some of the presidential powers—all under pressure from Bakiyev.
On Jan. 15, 2007, the president signed into law yet another Constitution. That same month, Azim Isabekov was appointed prime minister. Isabekov resigned in March, and Bakiyev named prominent opposition leader Almaz Atambayev to the post.
On Sept. 14, the Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan ruled that the two sets of constitutional amendments were illegal and brought back the 2003 constitution into effect.
President Bakiyev called for a referendum in order to restore some of the articles ruled as invalid by the Supreme Court. The ballot would also include a proposal to change the country’s electoral system by implementing a proportional representation model.
On Oct. 15, a new pro-presidential party, Ak Zhol (Bright Path), was launched. Bakiyev was asked to become chairman, but declined due to constitutional limitations.
The referendum took place on Oct. 21. Final results showed that a majority of voters accepted both changes. Bakiyev signed all the accepted provisions into law, dissolved parliament, and called an early election for Dec. 16.
International observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as well as officials from the United States government denounced several irregularities during the referendum, including a lack of information available to voters.
Electoral changes introduced after the October referendum include a new party-list voting system and an increased number of lawmakers—from 75 to 90. Critics of the reforms claim that small and independent parties will disappear in the new system, and fear Bakiyev will increase his power this way.
On Nov. 28, Iskenderbek Aidaraliyev became acting prime minister, substituting Almaz Atambayev.
Final results of the December ballot gave Ak Zhol 71 of the 90 seats at stake, followed by the Social-Democratic Party with 11 mandates, and the Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan with eight seats. The Ata-Meken (Fatherland) party did not elect a single candidate.
OSCE observers expressed disappointment with the electoral process in Kyrgyzstan.
Click here for Kyrgyzstan’s 2007 Legislative Election Tracker
President Bakiyev’s term has been marred with allegations of corruption and incompetence. Critics say Bakiyev is incapable of combating crime and corruption, and apparently unwilling to limit presidential powers, as he had promised.
2009 Presidential Election
On Mar. 20, the Kyrgyz legislature agreed to hold a presidential election on Jul. 23. The date was set after the Constitutional Court revealed that a new law extending the presidential term from four to five years will only apply after the next election.
On May 1, the governing Ak Zhol party gave green light to incumbent Kurmanbek Bakiyev to seek re-election. The party’s deputy chairman, Avtandil Arabayev, declared: "The decision has been made unanimously. Kurmanbek Bakiyev has been nominated as a candidate."
Bakiyev will face former prime minister Almazbek Atambaev in the election. Atambaev is the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan and will run as the candidate of the United Opposition. A former close aide to Bakiyev, he has repeatedly accused the president of running the country while pursuing his own interests.
On Jun. 17, the electoral authority approved the candidacy of Toktoim Umetaliyeva. She is the chairwoman of the Association of Nongovernmental and Nonprofit Organizations, and ran for president in 2005.
Also contesting the election are Jenishbek Nazaraliev, a physician; Tamir Sariev, leader of the opposition Ak-Shumkar (White Falcon) Party; and Nurlan Motuev, known for his notorious mismanagement of the Ak-Ulak coal-mining stock company and now head of the People’s Patriotic Movement Joomart (The Generous).
Officials with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will observe the electoral process. On Jun. 17, Miklos Haraszti, the OSCE’s representative on media freedom called attention on a recent crackdown against news reporters in the country, saying, "Kyrgyzstan’s journalists have recently endured an upsurge of brutal attacks, including two this month alone, while many cases from earlier this year have still not been resolved by the authorities. This trend is worrisome not only because it threatens the safety of journalism, but also because it endangers pluralism vital in an election year."
Supporters of Atambaev, the most prominent opposition candidate, have denounced harassment by official authorities several times since the campaign officially started in mid-June.
On Jun.18, 28 opposition activists who tried to meet president Bakiyev were arrested in Talas province. A local newspaper said the next day that an opposition activist was brutally beaten by two strangers and warned to leave the Atambaev campaign.
On Jun. 22, members of the Sariev campaign complained that people present at a campaign rally were being arrested randomly, causing the crowd to disperse.
On Jul. 21, Atambaev accused the government of wanting “to rig the results” of the ballot, adding, “If they try to steal votes on the election day, anything may happen. I will be with those who come out to defend their votes. (…) It has come to the point when police and the GKNB (security services) are trying to foil my meetings with voters. Like rats are afraid of the light, this government is afraid of the truth.”
On Jul. 23, as the polling stations were still open, Atambaev dropped out of the presidential race, saying that the election was rigged to secure the incumbent’s re-election. Atambaev declared: “The authorities understood that they would lose an honest and free election, which is why they relied on force—relied on force against their own people.” The candidate called for a new election to be organized.
An exit poll conducted by Sotsinform suggested a victory for Bakiyev with 67 per cent of the vote. An official, preliminary tally of the votes by the country’s electoral authority suggested that Bakiyev has won close to 85 per cent of the vote.
Radmila Sekerinska, monitoring chief of the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE)’s electoral mission, expressed her group’s disappointment with the ballot, declaring, “Sadly, this election did not show the progress we were hoping for and it again fell short of key standards Kyrgyzstan has committed to as a participating state of the OSCE.”
Final results released on Jul. 26 gave Bakiyev an overwhelming victory with 76.12 per cent of the vote. Turnout was tabled at 79.3 per cent.
Political Players
President: Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Prime minister: Igor Chudinov
The president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote.
Legislative Branch: The Joghorku Kenes (Legislative Assembly) has 90 members, elected to five-year terms through proportional representation with a five per cent threshold. In order to earn seats, parties must garner more than 0.5 per cent of the vote in each of the country’s seven regions and two large cities.
Results of Last Election:
President - Jul. 23, 2009
|
Vote% |
|
|
Kurmanbek Bakiyev |
76.12% |
|
Almazbek Atambaev |
8.41% |
|
Tamir Sariev |
6.74% |
|
Toktoim Umetaliyeva |
1.14% |
|
Nurlan Motuev |
0.93% |
|
Jenishbek Nazaraliev |
0.83% |
|
Against all candidates |
4.66% |
Legislative Assembly - Dec. 16, 2007
|
|
Vote% |
Seats |
|
Ak Zhol (Bright Path) |
47.43% |
71 |
|
Ata-Meken (Fatherland) |
9.51% |
-- |
|
Social-Democratic Party |
4.65% |
11 |
|
Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan |
2.78% |
8 |
|
Turan Democratic Party |
1.95% |
-- |
|
Ar-Namys (Dignity) |
1.43% |
-- |
|
Progressive Democratic Party "Erkin Kyrgyyzstan" (ERK) |
0.85% |
-- |
|
Party of National Revival "Asaba" (Asaba) |
0.78% |
-- |
|
Erkindik (Freedom) |
0.61% |
-- |
|
Aalam (Universe) Party of Independent People |
0.53% |
-- |
|
Glas Naroda (Voice of the People) |
0.35% |
-- |
|
Novaya Sila (New Power) |
0.23% |
-- |
|
Against all parties |
0.23% |
-- |