By Aigerim Turgunbaeva
BISHKEK (WARINFO) – Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov has persuaded parliament to push back the date of the next election by several months, in an indication he may be turning his thoughts towards running for a second term.
At Japarov’s request, lawmakers on Wednesday passed a bill to hold the next presidential vote on January 24, 2027, instead of October 18, 2026. This would ensure he serves the full six years of his mandate, which analysts said suggested he was thinking about extending his presidency.
Should Japarov run for office again and emerge victorious at age 56, he would become the first Kyrgyz president in twenty years to win a second term. Following the ousting of longtime leader Askar Akayev in 2005, two subsequent presidents, including his direct predecessor, were forced from power through uprisings.
“He hasn’t announced it publicly, but according to current laws and the prevailing conditions in the nation, it might be prudent for him to seek a second term. Several members of his team have indicated that they expect him to do so,” noted political scientist Emil Juraev to WARINFO.
Japarov, who served time in jail from 2017 to 2020 due to his role as an opposition politician, rose to presidency that same year fueled by demonstrations against purported vote rigging during a parliamentary election. In January 2021, he emerged victorious in a special presidential poll.
The nationalist politician has brought Kyrgyzstan’s once chaotic political scene under his firm control, including through populist moves like the 2021 nationalisation of the Kumtor gold mine, one of Central Asia’s largest. This year he signed a border deal to end a conflict with neighbouring Tajikistan.
Traditionally the most democratic of the five Central Asian states that emerged from the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan has in recent years become more aligned with its authoritarian neighbours.
Under Japarov, Kyrgyzstan has introduced a law against so-called “foreign agents” along the lines of Russian legislation, whilst also shuttering several independent media outlets. Parliament – to which elections are due in November – is dominated by parties loyal to the president.
The mostly Muslim country of 7 million people has close ties with Russia, where many of its citizens migrate for work. It also hosts several Russian military bases.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, trade data show that Kyrgyzstan has become a key backdoor route for goods from the European Union to enter Russia, bypassing sanctions against Moscow. Kyrgyz lender Keremet Bank was placed under U.S. sanctions in January.
Analysts say Kyrgyzstan is also a major conduit for Chinese products such as ball bearings, which have both civilian and military uses, to enter Russia.
(Reporting by Aigerim Turgunbaeva, Writing by Felix Light, Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Ros Russell)
