Constitutional referendum in Kyrgyzstan in 2021

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The constitutional referendum in Kyrgyzstan 2021 will be held in two ballots in January and March 2021 in the Kyrgyz Republic . In the two-stage process, the eligible Kyrgyzstan voters vote on the future system of government in the first ballot and on the adoption of a new constitution in the second ballot.

The first ballot on January 10, 2021 resulted in a clear majority in favor of the introduction of a presidential system of government . In the first round of voting , voters approved the reform proposals made by Sadyr Japarow , who was also able to win the presidential election.

background

Sadyr Japarov in November 2020

The parliamentary election on October 4, 2020 plunged the Kyrgyz Republic into a political crisis. After mass protests in the capital, Bishkek, over indications of buying votes and the misuse of state resources during the election campaign, the election results were canceled by the Central Election Commission on October 6th. On the same day, the government of Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov resigned, and on October 15, President Sooronbai Dscheenbekow resigned after persistent protests. The politician Sadyr Japarov, who had previously been imprisoned for taking hostages, emerged from the crisis as a beneficiary. He was elected the new Prime Minister and took over the post of President on a provisional basis after Dscheenbekov's resignation. From this position of power he filled key positions with close confidants and presented the key points of his reform program, announcing changes to the constitution. On November 14th, Japarov resigned from the office of acting president in order to run constitutionally in the presidential election in 2021.

organization

The underlying draft constitutional amendments were presented by Sadyr Japarov on November 17, 2020. On December 9th and 10th, the Kyrgyz Parliament approved the holding of a constitutional referendum in the first and second readings. The reform of the constitution will be carried out through a two-stage referendum: On January 10, 2021, the Kyrgyz people with the most electoral voting rights will vote between a parliamentary and a presidential system of government ; a new constitution is voted on. The implementation of a constitutional referendum is not a novelty in Kyrgyzstan, but has already been used several times in Kyrgyz history. For example, the constitutional referendum in 2010 was of great importance , in which the change to the parliamentary system of government was approved by a large majority.

content

Sadyr Japarov spoke out in favor of a return to the presidential system of government during his tenure as acting president. A preliminary draft for the design of this system was presented on November 17th and included radical changes to the Kyrgyz government system. Accordingly, the Kyrgyz parliament is to be reduced from the current 120 to 90 members in the future and lose its importance. The prime minister's executive powers are largely transferred to the president, whose role is thus significantly strengthened. With the so-called Kurultai , another political organ is also created. The name used to stand for meetings of Mongolian khans , in modern Kyrgyzstan the Kurultai is supposed to exercise a control function over parliament and the government. The Kurultai consists of local emissaries, who are not elected directly, but are determined in informal decision-making processes at the local level, these are mostly respected, elderly people, comparable to the role of an aksakal . The Kurultai can, among other things, express mistrust of the government and thus force it to resign; a vote of no confidence against the president is therefore also possible, in which case the Kurultai must first issue two warnings before the president can actually be removed in a third vote . Legislative competence remains with parliament even after the reform, here the Kurultai can only participate indirectly. In the course of the reform, it is also intended to enable the executive to delete newspaper articles and other content that contradicts the generally recognized values ​​and traditions of the Kyrgyz people .

criticism

Japarov's reform projects were accompanied by numerous demonstrations in the capital, Bishkek. On the occasion of the presentation of the draft on November 17 and the approval of a referendum in parliament on December 10, 2020, there were major protests. The demonstrators and non-governmental organizations warned against a return to a presidential system with authoritarian tendencies such as that prevailing in the neighboring states of Central Asia . A restriction of the freedom of the press based on the proposed constitutional amendments was also feared. Numerous prominent Kyrgyz politicians expressed concern about the effects of a possible constitutional change. Former Prime Minister Felix Kulow said the main goal of the reform was to secure "absolute power of the president."

In the parliament, however, Japarov found a stable majority for his plans and the intention to let the people decide on the constitutional amendment. The supporters of his reform plans referred above all to the instability of the parliamentary system of government in Kyrgyzstan and the lack of progress in recent years.

Result

The first ballot on January 10, 2021 resulted in a clear majority in favor of a presidential system of government in Kyrgyzstan. More than 80% of the votes cast went for this option, while only 10.8% of voters were in favor of maintaining the current parliamentary system of government. The turnout in the referendum was below 40% and thus on a level comparable to that in the presidential election taking place in parallel.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Peter Leonard: Kyrgyzstan: Japarov seizes all levers of power. In: eurasianet.org. October 16, 2020, accessed on January 9, 2021 .
  2. ↑ Shaun Walker: Kyrgyzstan election: prime minister resigns after result invalidated amid protests. In: The Guardian. October 6, 2020, accessed January 9, 2021 .
  3. ↑ Kyrgyz Parliament Approves Constitutional Amendments Law-In First Reading. In: rferl.org. December 9, 2020, accessed January 10, 2021 .
  4. ^ Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Ed.): Final Report: Constitutional Referendum 2010 . Warsaw July 27, 2010.
  5. ↑ a b Kyrgyzstan: MPs rush through approval for constitution referendum. In: eurasianet.org. December 10, 2020, accessed January 10, 2021 .
  6. ↑ Catherine Putz: What's in Kyrgyzstan's Proposed 'Khanstitution'? In: The Diplomat . November 20, 2020, accessed January 10, 2021 (American English).
  7. ↑ Munara Borombaeva: Kyrgyzstan Wants to Take Kurultai to the Next Level. Here's why. In: CABAR.asia. January 3, 2021, accessed January 10, 2021 (UK English).
  8. ↑ Concern Mounts Over Kyrgyzstan's Rushed Constitutional Overhaul. In: rferl.org. November 22, 2020, accessed January 10, 2021 .
  9. ↑ Japarov Appears To Win Kyrgyz Presidential Election, Set To Get Sweeping Powers. In: rferl.org. January 10, 2021, accessed January 11, 2021 .