On Sunday, December 16, Kyrgyzstan held snap parliamentary elections, following the constitutional referendum of October 21. Twelve political parties competed for 90 seats, to be distributed on the basis of proportional representation. As expected, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s Ak Zhol political party won the elections with... MORE

Two major Kyrgyz opposition parties – Ata Meken and the Social-Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) – have been experiencing extreme pressure from the government ahead of parliamentary elections on December 16. After SDPK member Edil Baisalov’s published a sample ballot on his personal blog on... MORE

As the political campaign for Kyrgyzstan’s December 16 parliamentary elections intensifies, the Kyrgyz opposition is experiencing direct and indirect pressure from the government. Whereas Kyrgyz political parties show greater professionalism in designing and promoting their election campaigns, the government has crafted new techniques to curb... MORE

Two weeks before Kyrgyzstan’s December 16 parliamentary elections, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev abruptly sacked Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev. Atambayev represents the moderate opposition in the government and his Social-Democratic party has been rapidly gaining ground in the run up to the elections. Atambayev was also... MORE

Almost all of Kyrgyzstan’s political parties that registered for the parliamentary elections on December 16 have now identified their top five candidates. Each political party had to come up with a list of 100 candidates for their official party lists. The top five slots tend... MORE

Following the national referendum in Kyrgyzstan on October 21, the Kyrgyz constitution and electoral law have been amended, leading to the dissolution of the parliament and government. Although the legitimacy of the referendum has been contested due to allegations of widespread electoral fraud, Kyrgyz President... MORE

On Sunday, October 21, Kyrgyzstan voted in a referendum for a new constitution and electoral law. According to the Central Elections Commission, voter turnout was 76%. Both the new constitution and electoral law were supported with 76% of voters favoring the new documents. While the... MORE

This week Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced that he would chair his newly formed electoral bloc, Ak Zhol, which unites all major pro-presidential political parties. Bakiyev’s bloc will be the frontrunner in the snap parliamentary elections anticipated after the referendum on Sunday, October 21. Al... MORE

In less than two weeks, on October 21, Kyrgyzstan will hold a referendum on a new constitution and electoral law. Both documents have been drafted by Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Already it is obvious that the new constitution and electoral law are far from representing... MORE

Two weeks ago Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev unveiled his draft constitution, which substantially increases his powers. Bakiyev’s constitutional project will be confirmed or rejected in the national referendum scheduled for October 21. Meanwhile, most local observers agree that the regime will likely falsify the final... MORE