General election in Kyrgyzstan 2015

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  • Ata Meken: 11 seats
  • SDPK: 38 seats
  • Kyrgyzstan party: 18 seats
  • Bir Bol: 12 seats
  • Onuguu Progress: 13 seats
  • Respublika - Ata-Schurt: 28 seats

    • The 2015 parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan were held on October 4, 2015 in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan . The 120 members of the Kyrgyz parliament, the Dschogorku Kengesch, were elected .

    The Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan , which was already involved in the government coalition before the election , became the strongest parliamentary group in the newly formed parliament with a significantly higher share of the vote. After the election, a coalition of four parties was formed under the leadership of the Social Democrats, and Temir Sariev was confirmed as prime minister .

    The parliamentary elections were characterized by an intense election campaign , a peaceful and democratic process and a high degree of political pluralism . After the change of government in Kyrgyzstan in 2010 , the democratic parliamentary elections in 2010 and the peaceful transfer of power from interim president Rosa Otunbajewa to Almasbek Atambayev after the presidential election in 2011 , the 2015 parliamentary elections represented a further stage on the path to democratization of the country in the global region of Central Asia , which is characterized by authoritarian regimes .

    Electoral system

    The electoral system in Kyrgyzstan is largely shaped by the country's constitution from 2010, which was adopted in the 2010 constitutional referendum . This constitution provides for the transformation of Kyrgyzstan away from a presidential system of government towards a parliamentary system of government . A unicameral system was established with the Dschogorku Kengesch as the parliament of Kyrgyzstan. The 120 MPs are elected by proportional representation. To distribute the mandates, all registered parties put up an electoral list , from which a certain number of candidates moves into parliament depending on the party's share of the vote. Several requirements were legally stipulated for the party list, including a proportion of at least 30% female candidates and 15% of candidates from ethnic minorities . There was a 7 percent hurdle for the parties in the election, based on the proportion of votes cast nationwide that the party was able to unite. In addition, there was a 0.7 percent hurdle at the regional level. According to this, a party had to receive at least 0.7% of the votes in each of the nine areas of the country, including the cities of Bishkek and Osh , in order to be allowed to send delegates to parliament. Another special feature of the electoral system in Kyrgyzstan is the cap on the mandates of a single party. It is regulated by law that no party can win more than 65 mandates.

    The right to vote was valid for all Kyrgyz citizens who were 18 years of age or older at the time of the election, with the exception of criminals and people with a mental disorder . For the first time in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia as a whole, a biometric electoral roll was used to cast votes efficiently and to prevent election fraud . This step had a positive effect on election day, but excluded some voters who did not register for the electoral roll in time. In the election, voters could vote for one of the registered parties or vote against all parties. The candidacy of independent candidates is not provided for in the Kyrgyz electoral system. The passive suffrage was with some exceptions for all citizens aged 21 years or older who had a permanent residence in Kyrgyzstan for at least five years. The registration of candidates was carried out by the parties who drew up their electoral lists taking into account the applicable quota regulations. For the registration of the candidates, all parties had to pay a fee, which was reimbursed if the vote in the parliamentary election exceeded 5%. This financial hurdle posed significant problems for the country's small parties and posed a great financial risk for them.

    background

    The 2015 parliamentary election was of great importance for the country, especially against the background of a general process of democratization and the transition to a parliamentary democracy. In addition, the country's geographic and political characteristics shaped the election campaign and the outcome of the election.

    Kyrgyz party landscape

    The Kyrgyz party landscape was very dynamic and volatile at the time of the election. Due to the relatively short phase of democratization since the independence of Kyrgyzstan in the course of the collapse of the Soviet Union up to the election year 2015, the stabilization and establishment of party-political and democratic structures had hardly progressed. The previous legislative period after the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan in 2010 was also marked by changes of government and party withdrawals by MPs. Numerous parties acted with severely limited financial and human resources at the regional level and were unable to establish a nationwide presence before the 2015 parliamentary elections. At the same time, this regional fragmentation of the party landscape made the formation of larger parties more difficult, as these often competed with smaller but regionally established parties in the individual regions of the country.

    Political constellation before the election

    Numerous changes of government shaped the political development of Kyrgyzstan in the years before the parliamentary elections in 2015. After the 2010 election, a coalition of the SDPK and the Ata Meken and Respublika parties was formed , which in 2011 also joined the Ar-Namys party . This four-party coalition broke up in 2012 and was replaced in September of the same year by a three-party coalition made up of the SDPK, Ata Meken and Ar-Namys, and the Respublika party went into opposition . In the five-year legislative period following the 2010 election, five different prime ministers ruled, including the leader of the Respublika party, Ömürbek Babanow , who had to resign from his office in 2012 after allegations of corruption. The 2011 presidential election ended with a victory for the Social Democrat Almasbek Atambayev , who was sworn in as the new Kyrgyz President on December 1, 2011 and thus peacefully assumed the most powerful office in the country. As a result, he constitutionally resigned his membership in the SDPK and pledged to be non-partisan . The political constellation in Kyrgyzstan was therefore primarily shaped by a strong Social Democratic Party, which, as the largest faction in the governing coalition and through its victory in the presidential election, had significantly shaped Kyrgyz politics after the change of government in 2010. In contrast, there were the parliamentary opposition from the Respublika and the nationalist Ata-Shurt, as well as numerous newly founded parties and party alliances that ran for the election.

    North-South separation

    Relief Map of Kyrgyzstan

    A national peculiarity in Kyrgyzstan is the pronounced division of the country into a northern and a southern part. This separation is of geographical origin, since the mountains of the Tian Shan represent a natural barrier and have created different settlement areas north and south of the mountains. Kyrgyz tribes settled both north and south of the Tian Shan, but the low level of exchange between these tribal groups led to the emergence of cultural and religious differences. The north-south separation also characterizes politics in independent Kyrgyzstan, as there are still hardly any connections between the two parts of the country in the form of roads and differences can be seen between the northern and southern halves of the country. The north is the economically stronger, more Russian-influenced part of the country, while the south is more dominated by Islam and a large Uzbek minority. These tendencies have always had a clear influence on Kyrgyz politics. For example, the long-time Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev , who himself came from the north, preferred politicians from the northern part of the country, which led to a strengthening of the opposition in the south and was ultimately one of the reasons for the start of the tulip revolution , which with Kurmanbek Bakiyev was a southern Kyrgyz brought to power. These ethnic, cultural and religious differences made it difficult for nationally active parties to build a broad political base throughout the country. Since many parties were almost exclusively active in the north or in the south, electoral alliances between parties with different orientations were a common means, such as the alliance of the parties Butun Kyrgyzstan (German United Kyrgyzstan) from the south and Emgek (German work) from the North.

    Parties and candidates

    A total of 203 parties, mostly with regional roots, were registered with the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Justice before the election, and 34 parties expressed their will to take part in the parliamentary elections. However, many of the small parties did not have the personnel requirements to participate and, among other things, could not deposit the required fee. In this way, the list of participating parties was reduced to 14 parties that campaigned with their own electoral list. In many cases, it was not possible to clearly separate the content of these parties. In the relatively young Kyrgyz democracy, most of the parties do not have a broad electorate and no clear orientation. Many parties were strongly represented in individual regions of the country or defined themselves strongly through their top candidates.

    Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan

    Logo of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan

    The Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK), as the opposition party to the then President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, played a key role in the change of government in 2010 and subsequently developed into one of the most important parties in the country. After the parliamentary elections in 2010 , the SDPK led the governing coalition and also provided the prime minister with the later President Almasbek Atambayev . Atambayev's victory in the 2011 presidential election brought a Social Democrat to the highest political office in Kyrgyzstan and strengthened the position of the SDPK, which shaped the party landscape in Kyrgyzstan as one of the few supraregional parties with a larger political base in the population. Politically, the party stands for a social democratic course with a pronounced liberal orientation.

    Respublika-Ata-Shurt

    The alliance of the parties Respublika ( German : Republic) and Ata-Schurt (German: Fatherland) was considered the SDPK's greatest political opponent. Both parties were assessed as conservative , whereby Ata-Schurt was often classified as nationalist , while Respublika stood in particular for a business-friendly course. The alliance between the two parties was based on an agreement between the two party leaders, Ömürbek Babanow and Kamchibek Tashiev . The former is one of the most famous entrepreneurs and politicians in the country and contributed significantly to the financing of the election campaign. Tashiev embodied the nationalist orientation of his party Ata-Shurt, he was accused of having partially organized and promoted the unrest in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010 and the attacks on the Uzbek minority. The two top politicians emphasized the stability and longevity of the alliance, while observers reported differences during the negotiations, which were due to the clear differences between the substantive orientation of the two parties and their chairmen. During the election campaign, the allies demonstrated unity in order not to jeopardize the success of the parliamentary elections through public conflicts within the alliance. The strong support for the Ata-Shurt party in the south and west of Kyrgyzstan was particularly important for the success of the electoral alliance. In the 2010 election, the Ata-Shurt party became the strongest faction in parliament just ahead of the SDPK, but was not entrusted with forming a government by the then interim president Rosa Otunbajewa . After the 2010 election, the Respublika party was represented as the fourth largest parliamentary group in the Kyrgyz parliament and from 2010 to 2012 part of the government coalition led by social democrats.

    Logo of the Ata-Meken party

    Ata Meken

    The Ata Meken party, founded in 1992, is one of the oldest parties in the country. Its orientation can be described as social democratic, with the party's electorate being in the political center-left spectrum. The chairman of the party at the time of the election was the prominent Kyrgyz politician Ömürbek Tekebayev , who, along with Almasbek Atambayev, was one of the most important figures in the opposition to former President Bakiyev and was instrumental in drafting the Kyrgyz constitution of 2010. Despite a similar orientation and cooperation in the opposition to Bakiyev, the SDPK under Atambayev and Ata Meken under Tekebayev went their separate ways after the change of government in 2010, which was also due to the mutual rejection of the two party leaders. Before the election, Ata Meken entered into an alliance with the Uluttar Birimdigi party (German: Alliance of Peoples). This decision caused political controversy, as the party chairman of Uluttar Birimdigi, the former mayor of Osh , Melisbek Myrsakmatow , was accused of abuse of office and had to flee to the People's Republic of China . Myrsakmatov was also accused of having participated in ethnically motivated attacks against the Uzbek minority in the city while he was mayor of Osh. These allegations against Ata Meken's ally weakened the traditionally strong support for Ata Meken in southern Kyrgyzstan and especially among the local Uzbek minority.

    Logo of the Bir Bol party

    Bir Bol

    The Bir Bol (Eng. Be united) party was registered as a political party in 2010. It was considered pro-Russian and advocated a modernization of the administrative apparatus. The party's candidates included many supporters of the former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev , who fled to Belarus in the course of the change of government in 2010 . In the run-up to the election, an alliance with the Emgek party was negotiated, but this did not materialize, whereupon an alliance of the Emgek and Butun Kyrgyzstan parties was formed.

    Onuguu Progress

    Onuguu – Progress ( Eng . Development - Progress) emerged as a split of four members from the Respublika parliamentary group in the 2010–2015 legislative period. In the parliamentary elections, the party, led by Bakyt Torobayev, stood for the first time as an independent party in a national parliamentary election. The majority of the party's electorate was located in southern Kyrgyzstan. The party chairman Torobayev described the party's orientation as neoconservative , and the pursuit of political stability was at the center of the party's political intentions. After the previous years of Kyrgyz history were marked by changing governments and protests, the party called for political competition within a suitable legal framework. In the run-up to the 2017 presidential election in Kyrgyzstan , Torobayev expressed this intention in calling for a dictatorship of the law , using an expression that Russian President Vladimir Putin also used. Overall, the party was considered pro-Russian at the time of the election, but at the same time emphasized the importance of Kyrgyz traditions.

    Kyrgyzstan Party logo

    Kyrgyzstan Party

    The Kyrgyzstan party was founded in 2010 and stood for reform-oriented and patriotic politics. In the run-up to the election, the party held a congress with 300 delegates, at which a new party program was adopted. Central demands in the election campaign were the improvement of the educational offer, the strengthening of the law and basic rights, the further development of the energy and tourism sector and a more active foreign policy. The party campaigned for greater cohesion in Kyrgyz society and deliberately renounced a religious or regional orientation.

    Other parties

    Some of the other parties were well represented in the election campaign, but they were said to have fewer chances of entering the Kyrgyz parliament in the run-up to the election. One of these parties with little chance of success was Ar-Namys (dt. Dignity), which in the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan in 2010 was the third largest parliamentary group and in 2011 switched from the opposition to the ruling coalition led by the SDPK. In the past legislative period, however, the party was weakened by numerous resignations of MPs, which led to a downsizing of the faction in the Kyrgyz parliament. In addition to content-related differences within the parliamentary group, there were also personal conflicts around the party chairman and former Prime Minister Felix Kulow , who was deposed as parliamentary group chairman in 2011. Chances of finding a way into the Kyrgyz parliament counted also the alliance of parties Butun Kyrgyzstan (dt. Vereintes Kyrgyzstan) and Emgek from which a nationalist politics especially for the votes of supporters of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev campaigned

    Election campaign

    The election campaign officially began on September 4th , one month before election day. A peaceful and competitive election campaign developed while fundamental rights were respected.

    Flag of the Eurasian Economic Union, which Kyrgyzstan joined in August 2015

    subjects

    The election campaign showed a high degree of political pluralism , leading to political debates on a wide range of issues. However, observers criticized the sometimes low content-related delimitation between the parties, which are mostly defined by leading politicians and less by content-related positions.

    One of the most important topics was the foreign policy orientation of Kyrgyzstan and in particular the future relations with Russia . Another subject of debate was Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union through the ratification of the application for membership by the Kyrgyz Parliament in August 2015. This step was promoted by the pro-Russian coalition led by the SDPK and meant closer economic ties to Russia and Kazakhstan , which is also a member of the Economic Union and an important trading partner of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia . Overall, the pro-Russian votes, which supported close ties to Russia, dominated the election campaign. This group also included the two large parties, the SDPK and Respublika-Ata-Schurt. During the election campaign, the economic dependency of Kyrgyzstan on Russia became particularly evident after numerous Kyrgyz migrant workers were unable to find employment in Russia as a result of the 2015 Russian economic crisis and the devaluation of the ruble , and the Kyrgyz Som also experienced a significant devaluation. The SDPK reacted to these economic difficulties with further rapprochement with Russia, also in the areas of security and foreign policy .

    Another campaign topic was investments in the country's infrastructure , including in the energy sector, as well as for the construction of new roads and the expansion of the rail network . In particular, the construction of a new north-south road connection between the cities of Bishkek in the north and Osh in the south was named as a central infrastructure project. Investments in the education sector were also an issue in the election campaign, with the Kyrgyzstan Party in particular calling for a rapid improvement in the Kyrgyz education sector. The widespread corruption is a topic that has always preoccupied Kyrgyz politics and was also discussed during the election campaign. The proposed countermeasures ranged from a strengthening of the e-government , as demanded by Onuguu-Progress, to the dismissal of half of the officials, as suggested by Respublika-Ata-Schurt.

    course

    A polling station for the general election in a school building

    The parties organized numerous election campaign events in all parts of the country. Election posters , banners and posters were an important means of the election campaign and were visible to the public across the country. The election campaigns were financed by funds from the parties and candidates as well as donations. The finances of the parties and the donations received were checked by the Central Election Commission and published at regular intervals. The budget for the election campaign was capped at 500 million Som, which was five times the budget ceiling applicable in the previous election. In particular, the SDPK, Respublika-Ata-Schurt and Ata Meken had the financial and human resources for a large-scale, nationwide election campaign. In addition to these three parties, Bir Bol, the Kyrgyzstan Party, Onuguu Progress, Butun Kyrgyzstan - Emgek and Samandasch also had an election office in each of the seven regions of Kyrgyzstan. Parties with lower financial resources usually only ran an intensive campaign shortly before election day, as such a campaign could not be financed over the entire period of the election campaign. A widespread means in the election campaign were gifts from candidates and parties to citizens who were entitled to vote. For example, the parties Bir Bol and Onuguu-Progress promised the population in rural areas modern agricultural equipment as a gift if the party did well in the respective constituency. Since opinion polls were not allowed in the run-up to the election, the election campaign was also characterized by great uncertainty regarding the outcome of the election. Until the first results were announced after the election, it was completely open how many parties would enter the Kyrgyz parliament and which party would get the most votes.

    One of the greatest controversies in the run-up to the election was the role of President Atambayev. According to the Kyrgyz constitution, Atambayev was bound to be non-partisan in this office and therefore resigned from the SDPK after his election as president. Nevertheless, the president was a visible figure in the election campaign and was used by the SDPK as a figurehead for its own campaign. There were also allegations that the president was instrumentalizing state projects and funds to support the Social Democratic Party. On election day itself, after casting his vote, the president expressed the hope that the SDPK would be able to increase its share of the vote in the parliamentary elections and called on voters to vote for stability . Furthermore, he hopes that no more than three parties will make it into parliament so that the government does not change every year.

    media

    The media played a central role in the Kyrgyz election campaign as it provided a platform for debate and expression of opinion and was used for campaigning. Television achieved the greatest reach. The offer focused on state broadcasters and a few private channels. The reporting lacked the necessary neutrality, as the president in particular was portrayed positively in the state media, while the political opponents of the SDPK, in particular Respublika-Ata-Schurt and Ata Meken, were reported less and tended to be more critical. In the private media, reporting was more neutral, in some cases positive towards the Respublika-Ata-Schurt party. A similar picture emerged on the radio. The spread of newspapers was concentrated in the larger cities of the country, so the reach of newspaper ads was limited. Nonetheless, printed matter was also used as a campaign medium, with parties placing advertisements. Election advertising in foreign media was banned during the election campaign, and foreign television channels in Kyrgyzstan were not broadcast live before the election, but were always recorded beforehand and then broadcast with a time delay. This mechanism for controlling foreign media has been criticized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) , among others .

    Result of the parliamentary election at regional level:
  • Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan
  • Respublika-Ata-Shurt
  • Kyrgyzstan Party
  • Onuguu Progress
  • Bir Bol
  • Ata Meken

    • Result

    The Central Election Commission announced the official final result on October 15, after a preliminary result had already been announced on October 5. The turnout was 59% to almost 1.6 million votes cast and thus decreased compared to the 2010 general election by two percentage points . Six parties or party alliances made the leap over the double threshold clause at national and regional level and entered the Kyrgyz parliament.

    Political party be right Seats
    number % number +/-
    Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan 435,968 27.35% 38 +12
    Respublika - Ata-Shurt 320.115 20.08% 28 −23 1
    Kyrgyzstan Party 206.094 12.93% 18th +18
    Onuguu Progress 148.279 9.3% 13 +13
    Bir Bol 135,875 8.52% 12 +12
    Ata Meken 123.055 7.72% 11 −7
    Butun Kyrgyzstan Emgek 97,869 6.14% 0 ± 0
    Samandash 43,405 2.72% 0 ± 0
    Uluu Kyrgyzstan 23,899 1.5% 0 ± 0
    Ar-Namys 12,807 0.8% 0 −25
    Meken Yntymagy 12,679 0.8% 0 ± 0
    People's Congress of Kyrgyzstan 9,619 0.6% 0 ± 0
    Eelam 6,398 0.4% 0 ± 0
    Assatyk 5,355 0.34% 0 ± 0
    Rejection of all parties 12,428 0.78% - -
    total 1,593,845 100% 120 ± 0

    1 Respublika and Ata-Schurt ran as individual parties in 2010, compared to the sum of the seats of both parties

    The expected duel between the SDPK and the Respublika-Ata-Schurt alliance was thus decided clearly in favor of the Social Democrats. These were clear election winners and were able to significantly increase their parliamentary group strength compared to the previous election. With the Kyrgyzstan party, Onuguu-Progress and Bir Bol, three new parties moved into the Kyrgyz parliament, while the former ruling party Ar-Namys clearly failed to pass the 7 percent hurdle with 0.8% of the votes cast and thus another Missed entry into the Kyrgyz Parliament. In the following legislative period, six political groups were represented in parliament, one more than in the previous legislative period. The success of young parties and the immense losses of the established parties Ar-Namys and Ata Meken were a symptom of the great dynamism of the party landscape in Kyrgyzstan. The composition of the parliament changed fundamentally with the parliamentary elections due to this dynamic, so that only 36 of the 120 members of the newly elected parliament already held a mandate in the Kyrgyz parliament in the previous legislative period.

    Temir Sarijew , Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan before and after the 2015 general election

    Government formation

    After the election, efforts began to form a viable coalition led by the victorious Social Democratic Party. The future second strongest parliamentary group Respublika-Ata-Shurt, in the person of Ömurbek Babanow, the chairman of Respublika, declared its willingness to enter into coalition negotiations with the SDPK. Overall, there was a high degree of willingness to form a coalition, as all parties except the Ata Meken party publicly confirmed their willingness to form a coalition with the SDPK after the election. Those responsible for the victorious SDPK made less specific statements the day after the election and referred to the announcement of the official final result, which was not yet available at that time. The party chairman of the SDPK, Chynybai Tursunbekow , also announced that he would like to form a coalition with parties of a similar orientation for the benefit of the country. On November 3, 2015, about one month after election day, the formation of a coalition of the SDPK, the Kyrgyzstan party, Onuguu – Progress and Ata Meken was officially announced, and the possibility of cooperation between the SDPK and Respublika-Ata-Schurt came accordingly does not materialize. This coalition of four had a clear majority in parliament with a total of 80 seats. The parties Bir Bol and Respublika-Ata-Shurt formed the opposition. The coalition formed was an expression of the striving for political stability after numerous changes of government had shaped the political situation in previous years. The coalition's political priorities indicated the stabilization of the Kyrgyz economy, an increase in the country's attractiveness for foreign direct investment , the improvement of infrastructure, especially in the energy sector, and the development of new production capacities. Temir Sarijew , who had held this post since April 2015, was confirmed as prime minister .

    In April 2016, just a few months after the formation of the new government coalition, Prime Minister Sariev had to resign. This was preceded by irregularities in the award of a construction contract to a Chinese company, which led to massive criticism of Sarijew from the opposition and parts of the ruling coalition. After President Atambayev also criticized Sarijew, he finally resigned from his office. His successor was Sooronbai Dscheenbekow from the SDPK.

    The coalition broke up just a year after the parliamentary elections in October 2016. The point of contention was the preparation of a constitutional referendum , which included strengthening the prime minister's position vis-à-vis the president. This project was supported by the SDPK and the Kyrgyzstan party, while the coalition partners Onuguu-Progress and Ata Meken expressed criticism of the proposal. They feared that the proposed constitutional amendments merely served to keep incumbent President Atambayev, who, according to the constitution, was no longer allowed to run for president after the end of his term in 2017. As a result, he would have the opportunity to aspire to the office of prime minister and thus to continue to exercise a strong political influence. Atambayev himself denied such a project, but could not allay the concerns of the coalition partners of the SDPK. As a consequence of the conflicts within the coalition, the SDPK finally declared its departure from the coalition. As a result, there was no stable majority in parliament for a party alliance, so that the cabinet had to resign on October 26th. On November 3rd, a new coalition was formed from the SDPK, the Kyrgyzstan party and the Bir-Bol party, which moved from the opposition to the government. This three-party coalition had a majority of 68 of the 120 members in the Kyrgyz parliament. The opposition was formed by the Respublika-Ata-Shurt, Onuguu-Progress and Ata Meken factions after the ruling coalition was reformed. Sooronbai Dscheenbekow was confirmed in the office of Prime Minister.

    rating

    The election was accompanied by numerous national and international observers . On the Kyrgyz side, observers from the political parties were present in almost all polling stations, and the non-governmental organizations For Democracy and Civil Society and Clean Elections sent observers to numerous polling stations to ensure that the election process was democratic and lawful. International observer missions, including teams from Turkmenistan and Mongolia, as well as from the Turkish Council , the Commonwealth of Independent States and the OSCE, were also allowed . In 2011 the rights and competencies of election observers were strengthened. so that they could now supervise almost all processes on election day. In addition, observer missions were allowed to be active in the country before election day and thus to observe political events over a longer period of time.

    Kyrgyz voices

    The observers of the Kyrgyz Alliance for Democracy and Civil Society , who observed the election in around 500 polling stations across the country, reported several irregularities, including cases of multiple votes and serious procedural errors by local polling officers. Another cause for complaint was the controversial role of the President, who failed to maintain his non-partisan status in the election campaign.

    In addition to his controversial statements on the outcome of the election, President Atambayev also commented on the overall significance of the election. The head of state described clean elections as essential and stressed the importance of real democracy and a strong civil society for Kyrgyzstan. Former interim president Rosa Otunbajewa called the election a significant improvement compared to the previous parliamentary elections and emphasized the uniqueness of such a democratic election in the region. At the same time, she recognized that further progress was needed in Kyrgyzstan.

    Criticism of the conduct of the election was expressed by those in charge of the Butun Kyrgyzstan-Emgek electoral alliance, who demanded that the votes be recounted in 69 polling stations after the election. The Central Election Commission ordered such a recount to be carried out in nine polling stations, but no significant reasons for a recount in other polling stations were found. On October 12 and 14, those responsible in Butun Kyrgyzstan-Emgek filed further complaints with the Central Election Commission, calling for a recount in 227 polling stations and the annulment of the nationwide election results. However, the complaints were rejected by the Commission and no further recounts took place.

    International voices

    In their final report, the OSCE observers rated the election as competitive and peaceful and praised the political competition and democratic structures. This rating is unique in Central Asia, which is characterized by authoritarian regimes and underlines Kyrgyzstan's status as an island of democracy in the region. The progress made in the legal and organizational framework was recognized by the OSCE and the peaceful and orderly process of the election was seen as a success for the young Kyrgyz democracy. The OSCE criticized the exclusion of individual voters by not registering in the biometric electoral roll, the cap on the number of parliamentary groups to a maximum of 65 seats and the lack of transparency in the work of the Central Election Commission. In addition, technical problems hindered the election process, so that polling stations opened later or the polls had to be interrupted in the meantime. The OSCE observers also pointed out shortcomings in the conduct of the election, including the long waiting times for voters at some polling stations and the inadequate observance of voting secrecy , which in some polling stations was achieved through voting outside a voting booth or through the visibility of the registered cross the ballot paper could not be guaranteed by the thin paper. Ignacio Sanchez Amor, Head of the OSCE Observer Mission, concluded after the election, despite these shortcomings:

    "These lively and competitive elections were unique in the region."

    At the same time, he emphasized that there was a need for further improvements.

    The Commonwealth of Independent States observer mission also came to a positive conclusion with regard to the election. The head of the mission, Vladimir Garkun, described the election as perfectly organized and considered it to be in full compliance with international standards . In addition, the CIS observers praised the use of modern technology, including the introduction of the biometric electoral roll.

    Individual evidence

    1. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. January 28, 2016, p. 5-6.12 .
    2. ↑ KYRGYZSTAN (Jogorku Kenesh), Electoral system. In: IPU PARLINE database. Retrieved May 16, 2020 (English).
    3. ↑ a b c d Monitors Praise Kyrgyz Elections. In: rferl.org. Retrieved May 17, 2020 (English).
    4. ↑ a b Maia Machavariani: Political party system formation in Kyrgyzstan . Ed .: Dublin City University. tape 8 . Dublin 2017 ( caspianet.eu ).
    5. ^ A b c Henrik Ohlsson: Kyrgyzstan parliamentary elections 2015. In: balticworlds.com. Retrieved June 19, 2020 (American English).
    6. ^ New Kyrgyz Coalition Agreed. In: rferl.org. Accessed June 21, 2020 (English).
    7. ^ A b Markian Ostaptschuk, Alexander Tokmakow: New government coalition in Kyrgyzstan. In: Deutsche Welle. Retrieved on July 7, 2020 (German).
    8. ^ Turner, Barry: The statesman's yearbook 2016: the politics, cultures and economies of the world. 152nd ed.Basingstoke, ISBN 978-1-349-57823-8 , pp. 739 f .
    9. ^ Kyrgyzstan: North-South Divide Is A Factor In Politics. In: rferl.org. Retrieved June 20, 2020 (English).
    10. ↑ Sedat Laçiner, Mehmet Özcan, İhsan Bal, Halil Ibrahim Bahar (eds.): USAK Yearbook of International Politics and Law . tape 1 . International Strategic Research Organization (USAK), Ankara 2008, ISBN 978-6-05004401-0 , p. 98-105 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
    11. ^ Opposition stubbornly protests. In: FOCUS Online. Accessed June 15, 2020 (German).
    12. ^ Social-Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan. In: Observatory on Politics and Elections in the Arab and Muslim World. Retrieved June 15, 2020 .
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    25. ^ Vinokurov, Evgeny,: Introduction to the Eurasian Economic Union . Cham, Switzerland, ISBN 978-3-319-92825-8 , pp. 2-3.12 .
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    29. ↑ Bruce Pannier: Fact Sheet: Kyrgyzstan's National Elections. In: rferl.org. Retrieved May 16, 2020 (English).
    30. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw January 28, 2016, p. 14-17 .
    31. ↑ Dr. Max Georg Meier: Political Background Report Kyrgyzstan . Ed .: Hanns Seidel Foundation. 1st edition. October 12, 2015, p. 5 .
    32. ↑ Pete Baumgartner: Social Democrats Leading In Closely Watched Kyrgyz Vote. In: rferl.org. Retrieved June 20, 2020 (English).
    33. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw January 28, 2016, p. 18-19 .
    34. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw January 28, 2016, p. 30 .
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    41. ^ Arch Puddington, Jennifer Dunham, Elen Aghekyan, Shannon O'Toole, Tyler Roylance: Freedom in the world 2017: the annual survey of political rights and civil liberties . New York, ISBN 978-1-5381-0008-0 , pp. 288 ff .
    42. ↑ International Foundation for Electoral Systems (ed.): 2015 Parliamentary Elections Frequently Asked Questions . No. 1 . Washington DC September 28, 2015.
    43. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw January 28, 2016, p. 25 .
    44. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw January 28, 2016, p. 26-27 .
    45. ↑ International observers of the IPA CIS gave positive feedback on the election in the Kyrgyz Republic. In: Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS). October 5, 2015, accessed on August 2, 2020 .
    This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on August 24, 2020 .