Kyrgyzstan/Bishkek
Political situation in Kyrgyzstan discussed between Deputy Speaker of Parliament Mirlan Bakirov and Dr. Max Georg Meier

On October 4, 2020, elections of deputies of the Jogorku Kenesh took place, as a result of which a political crisis began in Kyrgyzstan .

At the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the past elections, the possibilities for returning the country to the legal track, and on the new government.

According to Mirlan Bakirov, now the deputies are working to improve the electoral legislation. In particular, he noted a possible reduction in the electoral threshold from 7% to 5%. “In addition, it is proposed to limit the use of “Form Two” , as well as prohibit persons holding political positions from participating in elections and simultaneously holding an administrative position, so that a candidate cannot abuse administrative resources,” he added.

Also, in his opinion, Kyrgyzstan is not yet ready for an electoral system with party lists, and it is necessary to consider the option of returning to the majority system, and make use of successful cases and experience of the other countries. In addition, the prime minister should be given more powers while the president should be mainly a country representative in the international arena. At the same time, Mirlan Bakirov considers changes to the Constitution in the near future unrealistic.

In turn, Dr. Max Georg Meier said a word about the good work of the employees of the Central Election Commission on election day and, in general, about the good organization of the elections.

Mirlan Bakirov and Max Georg Meier touched upon the topic of the new government. On November 14, the Jogorku Kenesh approved the program and members of the new government headed by the new Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov. The so-called technical government will work until the new elections.

Max Georg Meier underlined that he has known Sadyr Japarov since 2002, when he worked in the local administration of the Tup region. “Sadyr Japarov is not a new person in politics. He also worked during the time of President Bakiyev, and headed the anti-corruption body, he has sufficient support, but he does not have his own strong party”, - he said.

Both sides agreed that it will not be easy for the new government to work now: new elections will require about 500 million soms, both parliamentary and presidential elections must be organized in the next three months, damage to the economy must be restored and international relations must be re-established.

Another important topic for the future of Kyrgyzstan, according to Max Georg Meier, is the administrative-territorial reform. “People are already tired of waiting for reforms, it is necessary to change the system of public administration, to make it simple and easy, to give more opportunities to local governments. This is very important because 60-70% of the population lives in rural areas. By reducing redundant departments and unnecessary levels of government, funds can be freed up and civil servants can be paid good salaries. In addition, you can switch to a contract basis, hiring people for the civil service by contract”, - suggested Max Georg Meier. As an example, Dr. Meier cited Germany, where out of 30 people only 5 are civil servants, and the rest work under contract. To this Mirlan Bakirov replied that he had informed Sadyr Japarov of the importance of the administrative-territorial reform.

Following the meeting, Mirlan Bakirov stressed that he is not going to reduce his political activity, and as soon as the situation returned to the normal condition, he would continue to work for the good of Kyrgyzstan.