| Adakhan Madumarov ( M) |
| Emil Shermatov ( M) |
207 Abdumomunova Str.
720003 BISHKEK
KYRGYZSTAN
Tel.: (996 312) 66 23 65, 27 08 05, 66 26 40
Fax: (996 312) 66 22 92
E-mail: bakitbakit@mail.ru
| http://www.kenesh.kg/ |
The threshold to win parliamentary representation is 5 per cent of the total votes.
Vacancies arising between general elections are filled through "next-in-line" candidates of the same party.
Overseas citizens can vote without restriction.
Voting is not compulsory.
- Age: 18 years old at the time of registration
Disqualification from voting:
- Conviction for treason, crime, bribery, or electoral offence.
Disqualification for any of the reasons cited aboveremains valid for the term of the sentence.
- Insanity/mental illness, undocumented immigrants.
- Age: 25 years old at the time of registration
- Permanent residence in the country for at least 5 years
Ineligibilities:
- Imprisonment for any reason
- Conviction for treason, crimes, bribery or electoral offence.
Ineligibility for any of the reasons cited above remains valid for the term of the sentence.
- Insanity/mental illness, guardianship/ward, holders of temporary entry permits, undocumented immigrants, executives and members of the Electoral Commission.
- Ministers of State
- Holders of public posts
- Holders of judicial offices (judges)
- Civil servants
- Government advisers
- Executives of the Electoral Commission
- Staff member of a public (State) corporation
- Members of the armed forces
- Members of the police forces
- Clergymen
- Submission of candidature at least 40 days prior to polling day
- Candidature can be submitted by political parties without restriction
- The name of substitute member must be submitted simultaneously
- Deposit for political parties: 500,000 soms (approx. US$ 15,000)
- Deposit is reimbursed for parties obtaining at least 5% of the total votes
Also available:
Archive of past election results for this chamber
The 2007 elections were the first national elections to be held under President Bakiyev. Following the previous parliamentary elections held in February 2005, opposition members and their supporters had led street protests calling for the elections to be invalidated. They also demanded that the then President, Mr. Askar Akayev, should resign. On 24 March, he subsequently fled to Moscow while the then Prime Minister, Nikolai Tanayev, submitted his resignation to parliament. Mr. Bakiyev was appointed as acting Prime Minister before being elected as the country's new president in July.
However, the country soon experienced a new standoff, this time between the President and parliament. In November 2006, following mounting pressure, President Bakiyev signed constitutional amendments curtailing presidential power in favour of parliament and increasing the statutory number of members of parliament from 75 to 90. (This reform was later nullified by the Supreme Court). Opposition members demanded early parliamentary elections, a call rejected by President Bakiyev and the then Prime Minister Felix Kulov. In December, Mr. Kulov resigned as Prime Minister in a bid to defuse the standoff between parliament and the President. President Bakiyev's attempt to re-name Mr. Kulov as prime minister was unsuccessful, as parliament twice rejected his candidature in January 2007. He subsequently named the then Agriculture Minister, Mr. Azim Isabekov, as the new Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Isabekov tried - in vain - to restore relations between the executive and the legislative branches. In late March 2007, he announced that he would be dismissing five ministers, arguing that "new people" with "new ideas" would facilitate the formation of a new coalition. However, President Bakiyev opposed the cabinet reshuffle and dismissed Mr. Isabekov. The President then announced that he would cooperate with United Kyrgyzstan, a newly-formed "opposition" group that included former prosecutor-general Azimbek Beknazarov, former foreign minister Roza Otunbaeva, and Social Democratic party leader Almazbek Atanbaev. Mr. Atanbaev was named as the new prime minister.
However, following the adoption of the new set of constitutional amendments in October 2007, the relationship between President Bakiyev and Prime Minister Atanbaev reportedly worsened. Under the revised Constitution, the President cannot be a member of any political party. Nevertheless, shortly before calling the constitutional referendum, Mr. Bakiyev had helped establish a new party called Ak Zhol People's Party (Ak Zhol, meaning "Bright Path"). It absorbed the Ata-Jurt party and some small parties (see note). Opposition parties accused the President of breaching the Constitution and trying to control both the executive and legislative branches. Mr. Atambayev criticized Ak Zhol and government officials for interfering with the election process. On 28 November, Mr. Atanbayev resigned as prime minister. The First Deputy Prime Minister, Iskenderbek Aidaraliyev, became acting prime minister.
The main opposition parties, Ata-Merken and Ak-Shumkar, formed an electoral coalition under the banner Ata-Merken (meaning "Fatherland"). Its leader, former speaker of parliament and prominent opposition figure Mr. Omurbek Tekebayev, pledged to unite opposition forces in the new parliament. Other opposition parties included Ar-Namys, led by former prime minister Kulov; the Asaba party of Mr. Azimbek Beknazarov; and the Kayran El party of Mr. Dooronbek Sadybayev. The Social Democratic Party as well as the Communist Party also contested the elections.
Aproximately 71.93 per cent of the 2.3 million registered voters turned out at the elections.
About 600 international observers, including those from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), monitored the polls. The OSCE declared that the elections "failed to meet a number of OSCE standards", criticizing the vote tabulation which it considered "prone to violation".
The Ak Zhol Peoples Party came in first, winning almost 47 per cent of the votes. Although the main opposition Ata-Merken came in second with 8.7 per cent of the votes nationwide, it was excluded from seat distribution since it had failed to pass the 0.5 per cent regional threshold in the southern town of Osh. On 18 December, the Supreme Court nullified this threshold requirement. However, the electoral commission maintained its previous decision and announced the final results on 20 December, giving the Ak Zhol People's Party 71 seats, the Social Democratic Party 11 seats and the Communist Party, eight. In all, 23 women were elected.
The Ata-Merken, Ar-Namys, and Asaba parties claimed vote rigging, and argued they had cleared the thresholds to win parliamentary representation. Supporters of Ata-Merken launched a hunger strike protesting the election results. Some 20 people were arrested.
The newly-elected parliament held its first session on 21 December. On 24 December, it elected former Secretary of State, Mr. Adakhan Madumarov (Ak Zhol People's Party), as its new Speaker. On the same day, it also elected former energy and industry minister, Mr. Igor Chudinov (Ak Zhol People's Party), who does not speak the Kyrgyz language, as the new Prime Minister.
Note:
Other parties absorbed by Ak Zhol were the patriotic party of Kyrgyzstan's Unity, One Kyrgyzstan, Soglasiye, El Kelechegi, the Republican Labour and Unity Party and My Country.
| Round no 1 (16 December 2007): Election results | ||||
| Number of registered electors | ||||
| Voters | 1'650'698 (71.93%) | |||
| Blank or invalid ballot papers | ||||
| Valid votes | ||||
| Round no 1: Distribution of votes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political Group | Candidates | Votes | % of votes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Ak Zhol People's Party | 1'228'319 | 46.99 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Social Democratic Party | 55'651 | 5.05 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Communist Party | 141'034 | 5.12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Round no 1: Distribution of seats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political Group | Total of seats | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ak Zhol People's Party | 71 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Social Democratic Party | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Communist Party | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Also available:
Archive of past election results for this chamber
General Information | Electoral System
Last Elections | Presidency of the Parliament | Parliamentary Mandate
PARLINE database: new search
Copyright © 1996-2008 Inter-Parliamentary Union