Kyrgyzstan is changing its parliamentary election system again

Kyrgyzstan is preparing for another electoral reform: parliamentary elections are planned to be switched from a mixed system to a fully majoritarian one. The initiative, put forward by a group of deputies led by Speaker Nurlan Turgunbek uulu, suggests fundamental changes in the electoral process, leaving the order of election of the president unchanged. The bill has been submitted for public discussion, which will last until mid-March.

Amendments to the Constitutional Law “On Elections of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic (KR) and Deputies of the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament)”agreed with President Sadyr Japarov. This was announced at a meeting of parliament by Speaker Nurlan Turgunbek uulu, who until recently had the surname Shakiev and changed it after the adoption of the draft law on amendments to the Family Code providing for the spelling of names and surnames reflecting Kyrgyz national traditions and historical heritage. He also assured the MPs that there would be no early dissolution of parliament. “These are rumors. There will be no elections ahead of time, either by a day or a month. I would like to note that the elections will be held next year,” he said, adding that the presidential elections will also be held on time.

The draft law on the reform of the electoral system in Kyrgyzstan provides for the division of the country into 30 electoral districts, in each of which parties will be able to nominate only one candidate. Self-nominated candidates will also have the right to participate in the elections. Three deputies will be elected from each district, and at least one woman must be among them. Thus, the new 90-seat parliament will include at least 30 women, which is significantly more than in the current convocation (less than 20). In addition, the bill cancels re-elections in the districts: when the mandate is vacated, the candidate who takes second place in terms of the number of votes will receive it.

The authors of the bill are convinced that the transition to a majority system with districts will completely eliminate party corruption, which, in their opinion, is characteristic of the proportional system. “If we turn to history, the elections to the Jogorku Kenesh were held according to different systems. The current mixed system, which includes party lists and single–mandate districts, has a number of drawbacks,” Marlen Mamataliev, leader of the Yntymak political party and one of the initiators of the bill, told local media. – In particular, there have been cases of the sale of seats on party lists, the price of which reached one million dollars. Even within the parties, there were lawsuits, scandals, a struggle for places at the top of the lists, and much more. All this has seriously undermined the credibility of the parties. I do not share the concerns that the proposed changes will limit the parties in any way.” On the contrary, the politician sees a number of advantages in the majority system of elections. He is convinced that this system will lead to a high-quality composition in parliament and “whoever gets there will no longer be able to get through.” In summary, Mamataliev said that the fight would be tough and that eventually the best of the best would come to parliament.

The majority system of parliamentary elections is not the “know–how” of current legislators. The first composition of the Supreme Council (1990-1994), elected in single-mandate constituencies, went down in history as the “legendary parliament”, which made fateful decisions by electing the president, approving the first Constitution, national currency, flag, coat of arms and anthem of independent Kyrgyzstan. The current parliament also seems to be striving for a similar status. He has changed the Constitution and the national flag to his credit. The initiative in the latter case belonged to the speaker, although later President Sadyr Japarov acknowledged the authorship of the idea. Then the speaker initiated the replacement of the anthem, stating that “even birds are frightened by its performance.” A competition is currently being held in the republic to create a new text and music for the anthem.

The new chairman of the Central Election Commission, Tynchtyk Shaynazarov, who was appointed just two weeks ago, did not comment on the bill proposed by the deputies to amend the constitutional law on elections at his first briefing. “The Central Election Commission has no right to evaluate the initiatives of people’s deputies. If the law is passed, the CEC will implement it, we will work on it,” he said, noting that the CEC interdepartmental commission is studying the proposed amendments and will make its recommendations during the discussion of the bill.

Igor Shestakov, director of the Oh Ordo Center for Expert Initiatives, called the deputies’ initiative to change the electoral system an attempt to “change the signboard without changing the essence.” “Society is dissatisfied with the work of deputies, so changing the form of elections without changing their content will not bring the desired result,” Shestakov told NG. – Over the past twenty years, Kyrgyzstan has repeatedly changed its electoral system: from majority to party, from party to mixed and back to majority. But the main problem is the content, not the form.”

According to the expert, the proposed bill does not contain mechanisms for systemic changes, reflecting only the personal ambitions of individual politicians. The results of the 2021 parliamentary elections and the 2024 local council elections with a turnout of less than 25% demonstrate the absence of a link between the elections and the improvement of the socio-economic situation of citizens. “The growth of labor migration, despite the tightening of legislation in Russia, only confirms this trend. Under any electoral system, this indicator will grow,” Shestakov stressed. He joked that voters might have to pay extra for participating in the elections, as the number of candidates would soon exceed the number of those who voted for them.

The expert also questioned the statements of the authors of the draft law on combating corruption, pointing out the absence of “carousels” and vote buying under increased control from Sadyr Japarov and the head of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) Kamchybek Tashiev. According to Shestakov, it is necessary to focus on the content, not on the form of the elections. The electorate must believe that an elected MP will be able to really improve their lives, starting from their income level and ending with their socio-economic situation in general. In the meantime, it all looks like Krylov’s fable: “And you, friends, no matter how you sit down, you’re still no good as a musician!”