• INTRODUCTION
• ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL SITUATION
• IMPORTANT POLITICAL ISSUES
• POLITICAL PARTIES
• SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTIES
• OTHER POLITICAL PARTIES

INTRODUCTION

In April 2010 former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted from Kyrgyzstan following violent protests. The demonstrators accused him of corruption and nepotism. When Bakiyev came to power in 2005 following the Tulip Revolution he promised his people to tackle these problems, but he lapsed into the authoritarian behaviour of his predecessor, Askar Akayev. Since Kyrgyzstan's independence in 1991 two Presidents have been removed by the Kyrgyz people in the hope of democratisation. The current interim-government, led by caretaker President Roza Otunbayeva of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), changed the constitution by means of a referendum in which the Kyrgyz people voted in favour of a more democratic regime. Power has shifted from the President to the Parliament and in October 2010 the Kyrgyz will vote for a new Parliament.

The shift in power from President Bakiyev to the interim-government had a destabilising effect on the southern region of the country, especially in the cities of Osh and Jalalabad. In the south a large minority of Uzbeks live. The Kyrgyz feel like they have to compete with them over financial resources. Bakiyev supported the Kyrgyz living in the south. Tensions between the Kyrgyz and the ethnic Uzbek minority came to afore at the beginning of June. About 400.000 Kyrgyz from Uzbek descent were forced to leave their homes and approximately 100.000 resided in refugee camps in Uzbekistan. According to official numbers over 300 people were killed, but President Otunbayeva mentioned a number of over 2000 deceased. By the end of June the situation was stabilised, but the sudden outbreak of ethnic violence clearly illustrates the difficulties Kyrgyzstan is dealing with.

ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL SITUATION

Since Kyrgyzstan's independence in 1991 the republic was ruled by President Askar Akayev. At first, Akayev was considered a liberal President, but his regime turned more authoritarian the longer he was in charge. In 2002 demonstrations against his rule broke out for the first time. Akayev had promised to step down from office in 2005 after three Presidential terms, but he tried to secure his power in other ways. In the 2005 Parliamentary elections two of his children won seats in Parliament. People feared an amendment to the constitution to change the term limit for Presidency.

Parliamentary elections 2005
The 27 February and 13 March 2005 elections were the first Parliamentary elections held since the amendment of the Constitution in 2003 that had substantially altered the structure of the Parliament and its method of election. A unicameral legislative Assembly counting 75 seats replaced the former bicameral Parliament. The elections were held in two rounds on the basis of a majoritarian electoral system. Candidates could register for election in one of the constituencies. To win a seat, the majority of the votes in the constituency (>50 per cent) should be won. If, in the first round, none of the contestants in a particular constituency would have won enough votes, the two leading candidates contest a second round, held within two weeks, in which a majority vote prevails. The first round was contested by 389 of the 425 originally registered candidates, of which merely 39 were women.

The major pro-governmental political parties were Alga Kyrgyzstan! and Adilet, which together nominated 65 per cent of the candidates. Many of the opposition parties were grouped in coalitions. The elections sparked unrest because of the obvious failure to meet (international) democratic standards, such as a balanced media coverage.

Tulip Revolution
Small-scale protests were organised by the opposition Forum of Political Forces before and during the elections. These protests intensified after the second round of the elections on 13 March 2005. As many of the results from the 42 constituencies contested were challenged in court, protests over the alleged electoral violations and irregularities spread out across the entire country. On 24 March, the opposition marched to the government building to demand the resignation of President Akayev and after a clash with pro-government protestors, the opposition took over the building. In the chaos that formed, Akayev fled the country. The Supreme Court then proceeded to declare a Central Election Commission decision to register the deputies of the new Parliament invalid on procedural grounds. Consequently, the outgoing Parliament appointed Kurmanbek Bakiyev, an opposition leader, as the acting PM and President due to Akayev’s absence from the country, which was later confirmed by the new Parliament. On 7 April, President Akayev officially resigned and early Presidential elections followed on 10 July.

Parliamentary elections 2007
On 16 December 2007 early Parliamentary elections were held after the early dissolution of Parliament on 22 October. The poll came after a referendum that was held on 21 October, which approved constitutional reforms as well as a new electoral code. After the referendum was accepted, President Bakiyev called on early elections, which were the first national elections held under Bakiyev after former President Akayev's forced resignation. The largest opposition parties in the country, the Ata-Meken and Ak-Shumkar, merged together and continued as Ata-Meken (“Fatherland”). The Presidential Ak Jol People’s Party (“Bright Way"), was nevertheless largely the great winner, gaining almost 47 per cent of the votes and receiving 71 seats in Parliament. Despite the fact that the Ata-Meken party came in second with about 8.7 per cent of the votes at national level, the party did not receive any seats as it did not pass the regional threshold of 0.5 per cent in the south. The Social Democratic party gained 11 seats in Parliament, while the Communist Party got eight seats. In total, 23 women were given a seat in Parliament, making the proportion of women 23.56 per cent. The turn-out was about 71.93per cent based on 2.3 million registered voters. Opposition parties spoke of vote fraud and held street protests contesting the elections results. Moreover, opposition parties, including the Ata-Meken party, which failed to gain a seat in Parliament united in a bloc called “For Justice Movement” that organised anti-President protests in early 2008. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) affirmed that the vote did not comply with some OSCE standards.

Constitutional referendum 2007
On 21 October 2007, a constitutional referendum was held. At stake were provisions that included a change from a single constituency to a proportional all-party list electoral system, and an increased number of deputies within Parliament from 75 to 90, due to which a dispute occurred between the executive and the legislative branch. Also, the government would now be formed by the party with the most seats. Moreover, the threshold for political parties to get in Parliament became 5 per cent. The electoral code amended that coalitions in Parliamentary elections were no longer allowed. According to the Kyrgyz Central Election Commission (CEC) 75.04 per cent of the citizens voted for the constitutional amendments and 75.45 per cent voted for the new electoral code. The international community stated the poll did not meet international standards.

Presidential elections 2009
On 23 July Presidential elections were held. Incumbent President Bakiyev won the elections with 76.43 per cent of the votes. Bakiyev’s main challenger, Almazbek Atambayev, came in second with 8.39 per cent. He pulled out of the election together with the other main opposition candidate Jenishbek Nazaraliev, claiming massive fraud was taking place. After the results were announced the opposition refused to accept the outcome of the vote, and accused the authorities of election fraud. Also Omurbek Tekebaev, leader of the Ata-Meken party, called the vote illegitimate for the “constitution states that the elections should be held in the last week of October 2009”. Moreover, on election day and during the following days sporadic opposition demonstrations to protest the election results were held in the capital Bishkek, as well as in other cities. Authorities have clamped down on unsanctioned gatherings since the vote and dozens of people were arrested.

Fraud allegations
Kyrgyzstan's local independent monitors said government officials were considering the alleged violations that took place during the voting and vote count, but in general they called the election fair and free. The OSCE nevertheless reported ballot-box stuffing and multiple voting, among other irregularities, and stated the election fell short of democratic principles. US-based rights group Freedom House also urged the international community to put pressure on the government to encourage democratic reforms. On 2 August Bakiyev was inaugurated for his second Presidential term. In his inaugural speech Bakiyev listed fighting corruption and reducing poverty as among the main concerns for his government. No rallies were reported on inauguration day.

Violent anti-government demonstrations April 2010
In March 2010 it was exactly five years since the Tulip revolution replaced long-time leader Askar Akayev, by Kurmanbek Bakiyev. In the same month several thousand opposition demonstrators went out in the streets of the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek and other Kyrgyz cities, to air their dissatisfaction with the current regime, the high energy prices and the high unemployment rate. The protests turned violent in Bishkek on 7 April, after President Bakiyev ordered the security forces to arrest some demonstrators. Consequently, protesters started attacking the police and tried to storm the government building by crushing its fences. The police reacted by shooting out opposition demonstrators killing many of them.

The violence continued for several days and at the end of the week, according to official reports, some 85 people have been killed following clashes between police forces and protesters. Hundreds of people have been injured. President Bakiyev immediately fled to the southern part of the country to seek the support of his followers mostly living there. The Kyrgyz Minister of Internal Affairs, Moldomoussa Kongantiyev, did not manage to escape on time from Bishkek after being attacked by anti-government demonstrators. He succumbed to injuries on his way to a hospital. Meanwhile, on 7 April, the opposition forces formed an interim coalition government, led by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roza Otunbayeva. Otunbayeva was since October 2009 the head of the Parliamentary group of the opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP). On 9 April, she announced plans to call elections in six months. It is said Bakiyev wrote a letter of resignation on 13 April, but he says he was pressured and is still the legitimate leader of Kyrgyzstan.

Ethnic violence June 2010
On 11 June ethnic violence erupted in Osh and Jalalabad, two southern cities of Kyrgyzstan. According to the official death toll, at least 309 people got killed and thousands got injured, after several days of clashes and killing between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups. The real number of casualties is estimated to be several times higher. Kyrgyz gangs have been accused of attacking Uzbek people and setting their properties on fire. Hundred thousands of members of the Uzbek minority have fled their homes to escape the violent attacks. Most of them went to neighbouring Uzbekistan, which has set up camps alongside its border with Kyrgyzstan. The International Committee of the Red Cross called the humanitarian situation in the south of Kyrgyzstan "critical".

Interim leader Otunbayeva acknowledged that her government was not able to ease the tensions in Osh. The Kyrgyz interim government appealed for Russian assistance, but Moscow refused to send in peacekeepers as did the Central Asian countries. Both the UN and the EU raised concerns about the situation. The clashes produced the worst ethnic violence that hit Kyrgyzstan since former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted last April in a bloody uprising. It is not clear what sparkled the ethnic clashes. The Kyrgyz population is made up of Uzbek people for 14 per cent. However, in the southern cities they make up one-third of the population. The Uzbek in the south mainly support the interim government, while many Kyrgyz still back ousted President Bakiyev.

Constitutional Referendum 27 June 2010
On 27 June 2010 the Kyrgyz voted in a referendum on the introduction of a Parliamentary democracy after the ethnic unrest in the preceding weeks. Many people were unsure whether to proceed with the referendum considering the many (Uzbek) people who were homeless at that time. The interim-government decided to pursue the referendum, because it would also give legitimacy to the new government. Over 90 per cent of the participants voted in favour of the proposed constitution in which power shifts from the President to the Parliament.

Nearly 70 per cent of Kyrgyz voters turned up. OSCE monitored the elections and stated that “although there were evident shortcomings, the reported high turnout indicates citizens' resilience and desire to shape the future of their country”. Some Uzbeks had problems voting, because their passports were destroyed during the riots or they were afraid to leave their neighbourhoods to vote. The interim government decided that people could vote without their passport if they registered their home address at a municipal office. In some dangerous areas busses were used to pick up Uzbeks from their quarter to drive them safely to the voting booth. Overall, the international election commissions administered the process in a largely transparent, collegiate and timely manner.

Roza Otunbayeva will be Kyrgyzstan's interim President until December 2011 and she formed a new caretaker government. On 3 July 2010, following the referendum, she was inaugurated as the new President of Kyrgyzstan. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for October and will be held once in five years. The Presidential term is limited to one period consisting of six years. Opposition parties and the Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, were sceptical of the election outcome. They doubted whether 90 per cent of the Kyrgyz people voted in favour of the interim-government. Former Kyrgyz President, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, is still popular among a considerate amount of Kyrgyz. His popularity is not reflected in the election outcome. Followers of the former President accused the interim government of electoral fraud.

IMPORTANT POLITICAL ISSUES

Political crisis
Kyrgyzstan’s number one problem at the moment is the political turmoil the country finds itself in. The June 2010 referendum legitimated the interim-government but the new government faces enormous problems to deal with. The exact reasons for the violent outbreak in southern Kyrgyzstan in June are undetermined, but poverty and social unrest are the main causes. The clashes took place between Kyrgyz and Uzbek people, but many are cautious to label the clashes as ethnic violence. Researchers stress that ethnic tensions are not to be considered the main cause for the June uprising but instead are its outcome.

The main problem of Kyrgyzstan is its poverty. Only 7 per cent of Kyrgyzstan’s mountainous country is arable, therefore resources are limited. About 40 per cent of the population lives below the poverty level, and 13 per cent of the population lives in extreme poverty. Poverty is worst in rural areas, where 55.5 per cent of the population lives in poverty. In urban areas this is 28.3 per cent. After the break up of the Soviet Union and the end of collective farms the Kyrgyz population in the south had to find a new way of living. They used to be nomads and farmers before the introduction of the collectivisation, but there was not enough fertile land accessible. They were forced to move to the city, where Uzbeks lived as merchants and controlled the market places. It was hard for the Kyrgyz to make a living, which led to frustrations.

The economic crisis only worsened the situation and this led to increased poverty and discontent. At the same time the Uzbek minority, consisting of approximately 800.000 citizens, is disgruntled with the Kyrgyz dominant position within the government and army. According to the Uzbek minority this leads to discrimination, because the Uzbek think the Kyrgyz favour their own people. It is up to the new government to find a solution for the great divide between northern and southern Kyrgyzstan.

Another problem is the political climate in Kyrgyzstan. Both former Presidents, Akayev and Bakiyev, promised to democratise Kyrgyz politics, but both failed to do so. In the Central Asian states corruption and nepotism are hard to eradicate. The problem of nepotism is related to clan politics in which people are loyal to their regional clan. These clans are often more important than overlaying national frameworks and influence political decisions on all levels. The new government led by Roza Otunbayeva seems determined to tackle these problems, but the outcome remains to be seen.

Election participation of minorities
According to a 2007 estimate the Kyrgyz population is made up of several different ethnicities. The largest population group consists of the Kyrgyz (69 per cent). Large minorities are formed by the Uzbeks (14,5 per cent) and Russians (9 per cent). Small but noticeable minorities include Tatars (1.9 per cent), Uyghurs (1.1 per cent), Tajiks (1.1 per cent), Kazakhs (0.7 per cent) and Ukrainians (0.5 per cent), and other smaller ethnic minorities (1.7 per cent).

National minorities were significantly underrepresented as candidates during the Parliamentary elections in 2005. Out of 389 candidates, only 12 per cent came from minority groups whereas 35 per cent of the population comes from such groups. 5 per cent of the candidates were Uzbeks, whereas 14,5 per cent of the population of Kyrgyzstan is, and 4 per cent of the candidates were Russian, compared to 9 per cent of the population. However, the final composition of Parliament ensured a certain level of representation to national minority groups. Out of 75 seats, Kyrgyz candidates won 60 seats; Uzbeks won 7 seats; Russians won 3 seats; and representatives of other minority groups won 3 seats.

There were allegations during the elections that decisions to redraw constituency boundaries were taken in order to favour one ethnic group over another. Whether this was truly the motive remains unclear. However, redrawing the constituency boundaries did prove divisive in areas were significant national minorities are present. The 90 per cent Uzbek population of Osh was divided into three constituencies significantly large to add a Kyrgyz majority. This clearly discouraged the participation of Uzbeks in the election; there was no Uzbek candidate in any of the Osh districts. In the 2005 Presidential elections, no minority candidate stood for elections. This was partly due to the Kyrgyz language test that should be passed, and that would be live broadcasted on television. No issues relating to national minorities featured during the campaign.

Gender representation
Although there is no legal discrimination against women presenting their candidacy for elections, women are significantly underrepresented in the Parliament. Underlying factors include traditional societal values and high barriers such as the inability of female candidates to gather sufficient funding. Especially in the rural areas women are generally not active in politics.

As of 2007, women held several high-level government posts, including Minister of Finance, Minister of Education and Science, Minister of Labour and Social Development, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, the Chair of the State Committee on Migration and Employment Issues, and Chair of the CEC. In August 2007 the President signed into effect an action plan on achieving gender balance for 2007-2010. The appointment of Roza Otunbayeva as President of Kyrgyzstan is an important step in achieving gender equality. She is the first female to achieve the position of President in the Central Asian countries. Many critics doubted whether the traditional population would support a woman in this position, but the people voted in favour of her in the June 2010 referendum.

Corruption
Corruption has been a continual problem for Kyrgyzstan over the past years. In 2009 Kyrgyzstan occupied the 14th place of most corrupt countries in the world according to Transparency International. Low salaries in the (semi-) public sector make the bribery of officials commonplace. The judicial branch is under control of the President and his representatives since the President can easily fire judges from their function. Whereas being a Member of Parliament grants a certain amount of immunity from the law, criminals are attracted to government positions. Politics and criminality become more and more entangled.

Society is largely built on family- and clan loyalties, with jobs being directed accordingly. Within the civil service, extensive patronage networks and the legacy of the nomenclature system have made it difficult to establish a professional merit-based civil service. Significant regional power centres exist, with a profound split between northern and southern provinces. Although Bakiyev pledged to fight corruption during his presidency, little has been done. Anti-corruption strategies mainly consist of proposals to change the legal framework, but relatively little attention is paid to successful implementation of such changes.

International relations
Kyrgyzstan is a small country with 5.5 million inhabitants. The country is too poor to be economically viable without considerable outside assistance and it lies in a volatile corner of the globe. Former President Akayev was soon to recognise this, and started seeking international partners and relations immediately upon Kyrgyzstan’s independence. Recognizing that Kyrgyzstan was on the short term more likely to seek help from the international community than to contribute, contacts were searched on a principle of neutrality, meaning that Kyrgyzstan would move between different political blocks.

As a result, in 1998 Kyrgyzstan was the first member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). The country is now a member of most major global and regional bodies, including the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Partnership for Peace of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Kyrgyzstan’s relative democracy, especially whilst located in an area where many authoritarian leaders firmly hold their grip on power, has given the country considerable leverage in the international community creating goodwill with (western)democracies. This ensured that a considerable flow of money has been directed to the country in form of democracy assistance and development aid. However, as was the case with the Tulip Revolution, Kyrgyzstan’s authoritarian ruled neighbours sometimes consider the relative democracy as a threat, fearing that it might spill over. Furthermore, being a former Soviet Republic, a neighbour of China, and a relatively democratic country located on a geo-strategic position for the West, the Kyrgyz Republic tries cautiously to balance different major outside influences to its advantage.

Relations with other Central Asian states
Kyrgyzstan borders three of the other four Central Asian States. Of these, Kazakhstan is of biggest importance to Kyrgyzstan, due to its high-speed economic growth and huge financial resources. During the last five years Kazakhstan invested about 400 million dollars in Kyrgyzstan and is considered the largest investor. Thirty-three per cent of the total Kyrgyzstan bank's equity belongs to Kazakh investors. There are about 2,000 enterprises functioning in Kyrgyzstan, and 500 belong to Kazakh entrepreneurs. Despite the economic ties Kazakhstan is very cautious of political unrest spreading in the region. Kazakhstan has closed its borders with Kyrgyzstan several times since the outbreak of unrest in Kyrgyzstan in April 2010.

Uzbekistan has big economic and political influence in southern Kyrgyzstan due to the large Uzbek population in that region of the country, making up 14 per cent of the entire Kyrgyz population. This influence was played out by the Uzbek President, who has in the past threatened that he bears responsibility for the well being of all Uzbeks, including those outside the borders of his own nation. The rights of the Uzbek minority are therefore a sensitive issue. Tensions over the status of Uzbek enclaves among common borders have continued to mount, and remain unsolved. When the June 2010 tensions between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks escalated in the southern regions, many Uzbeks fled to Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan was the only Central Asian country generously opening its borders for refugees, illustrating the relation between Uzbekistan and Uzbeks living in Kyrgyzstan. Many Kyrgyz fear a separation of the southern region, because of the many Uzbeks living there.

Furthermore, tensions remain with Tajikistan over a border dispute. Tajikistan does not recognize the borders along the Isfara valley to the southwest of Kyrgyzstan. These borders are very porous and relatively unprotected, creating a crossover zone for terrorists and smugglers.

Relations with China
China is Kyrgyzstan’s biggest neighbour and is increasing its influence on Kyrgyzstan both economically and politically. Economically, Kyrgyzstan’s natural resources are of great interest to China, which has already invested heavily in hydroelectric projects in the country. Furthermore, China’s booming economy is always looking for new markets. Politically, China tries to blunt the further penetration of US and Russian military power in Kyrgyzstan, whereas both countries have opened military bases in the country in the beginning of the 2000s.

China tries to maintain good contact and cooperation with Bishkek regarding the countries’ common border. Kyrgyzstan borders China’s Xinjiang province, a region with 9,7 million of China’s Uyghur population. Some of them have migrated to Kyrgyzstan, making up about one per cent of the population. This is of concern to the Chinese government because of the separatism in Xinjiang and the possible threat of Muslim terrorism. Moreover, China has for long been unsatisfied regarding its borders in Central Asia, and due to its demographic pressure has a keen interest in expansion of its territory by annexing territory of neighbouring states. This has already happened in 2002, when China and Kyrgyzstan concluded a controversial border treaty in which Kyrgyzstan agreed to transfer 90.000 hectare of territory to China in an attempt to settle a long border dispute. The treaty sparked enormous protests in Kyrgyzstan and is said to be one of the underlying reasons for the people to protest against Akayev’s regime in 2005. However, due to the unequal power balance between China and Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek has reason to be interested in friendly relations with its huge neighbour.

Relations with Russia

Relations with Russia are of primary concern to Kyrgyzstan because the country has been very dependent on the Soviet structure in economic and security matters. The disruption of the economic linkages following the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a severe economic crisis in Kyrgyzstan in the early 1990s, causing the country to actively seek reintegration with the old Soviet states.

One of the first ways in which this was realised was the establishment of a customs union with Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus in 1996. In aspects of national defence Kyrgyzstan has always remained dependent on Russia, not having developed an armed force of significant size and relying on Russian assistance to control the country’s borders. However, Kyrgyzstan has often wished for more attention and support from Moscow than it was able to obtain, being a small and remote country of little strategic importance to the Russian Federation. It has only been in the past few years, with the increasing influence of the European Union and China in former Soviet states, that Russia has started to pay more attention, seeing aid to Kyrgyzstan as a successful precedent in its new policy of gaining influence in its “near abroad”. The presence of US troops in Kyrgyzstan for antiterrorist operations in Afghanistan since 2002 prompted the Russians to increase their military presence in the state as well and has marked a significant increase in interest in the area by the Kremlin. In 2005, a bilateral treaty was signed that greatly expanded Russian military aid, arms sales and aid in building energy infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan.

Nevertheless, Russia denied military aid to the Kyrgyz interim-government when they requested it in June 2010 after the uprising of unrest in the Ferghana Valley. Roza Otunbayeva asked the Russian government to intervene, but the Kremlin responded that the riots were a Kyrgyz matter. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), including Russia and Kyrgyzstan, considered sending peace troops, but in the end they did not. The Russian government seems to seek some distance from the interim-government. After the 27 June referendum Russian President Medvedev announced his doubts on democratisation in the Central Asian country. “I don't really understand how a Parliamentary republic would work in Kyrgyzstan," he said. "Will this not lead to a chain of endless problems, to reshuffles in the Parliament, to certain political groups gaining power, to uncontrollable shifts of power from one person to another, and, finally, will this not help extremist-minded forces come to power?”

Relations with the US
Multifaceted US assistance to the newly independent Central Asian States started in 1992 with the adoption of the Freedom Act. Initially, US assistance focussed mainly on democratization and the promotion of free market economies. Kyrgyzstan, being the most democratized country in the region, profited a great deal from US goodwill, making it the Central Asian State that received most donor funding. Furthermore, security cooperation has played an increasingly important role in US-Central Asia relations, because of the US interest in preventing nuclear proliferation in the region. In the mid-1990s Kyrgyzstan joined the NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. This quickly led to US military presence in the country, whereas US military officers began participating in Partnership for Peace exercises. The Partnership for Peace program was also of importance to stability in the region with the Central Asian states working together under a wider mandate to sustain peace.

Before 9/11 Central Asia was marginal to US national security, posing little immediate threat. Since then, the region has assumed new importance on the basis of its geo-strategic position. In December 2001, the US and Kyrgyzstan signed a basing access agreement allowing US and NATO forces to use Manas airport in Kyrgyzstan to support the war in Afghanistan. This agreement was extended for a year in 2002, and for another 3 years in 2003. The Americans are still leasing the airport although the relationship with the Kyrgyz government has been difficult at certain points. In 2006 and 2009 the Kyrgyz government asked for a considerable increase of the amount of money to rent the base. On 23 June 2009 a new deal was reached between the US and Kyrgyz governments. It was ratified by the Kyrgyz Parliament two days later and signed into law by President Bakiyev on 7 July. Under the terms of the new agreement, US payment for use of the facilities will increase from .1 million to million. An additional 7 million will be given to the Kyrgyz government.

Relations with the European Union
Relations between Kyrgyzstan and the European Union are structured along the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) that was signed in 1995 and entered into force in 1999. Although relatively small volumes of bilateral trade and direct investment are flowing into Kyrgyzstan from the EU, the EU does consider Kyrgyzstan of significant importance as it sees the country as a potential leader of political and economic reform in Central Asia and as an advocate of closer cooperation and integration in the region.

Money has therefore been directed to Kyrgyzstan in the form of aid directed to support the consolidation of democracy and the developing of a market economy in the country. Aid has also been given to Kyrgyzstan for the implementation of the PCA. Furthermore, regional aid is being given to alleviate poverty and to develop better relations between the Central Asian countries. However, Central Asia has never been a priority area of the EU and relations are not extensive. The EU is therefore a relatively small player in Kyrgyzstan, when compared with Russia, China and the US.

Following the June 2010 unrest in Kyrgyzstan, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) decided to send a 52-strong police force to southern Kyrgyzstan to help the local police. They will focus on the training and assistance of Kyrgyz police men to help stabilise the region.

POLITICAL PARTIES

Kyrgyz politics relies mainly on persons. Parties have little influence and are often unknown by the Kyrgyz public. 52 per cent of the population is unaware of any political parties in Kyrgyzstan; another 5 per cent knows about existing parties, but is not informed about any of their platforms. Similarly, most politicians do not regard political parties as much more than a vehicle to get into the Parliament. Many politicians, however, never wished to affiliate to any party because the constitution forbade party-membership for the President, Ministers and other important officials. This has changed with the constitutional changes in November of 2006. A party can be registered when it has as little as ten members, and more than 80 Kyrgyz parties formally exist. Most of those are inactive, have a minimum amount of members, and revolve around one or two key figures. In many cases, politicians who were elected from the same party list do not work together in the Parliament and instead choose their political associates once they are elected. Within the Parliament, deputy groups are formed by MPs that did not rally for the elections together, sometimes on the basis of rather vague links. The political party structure of Kyrgyzstan is relatively fragmented and in an ongoing process of development.

SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTIES

Social Democratic Party
Chairperson: Almazbek Atambayev
The Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) was founded in 1993 by Abdygany Erkebaev. The party calls for a socially oriented policy of development and the establishment of a Parliamentary system of politics in Kyrgyzstan. SDPK co-leader Roza Otunbayeva is the current President of Kyrgyzstan and she played an important role in the 2010 reforms in Kyrgyzstan. Because the party is one of the few parties in Kyrgyzstan which genuinely calls for a liberal democracy, it has pretty good ties with the west. The party is said to have contacts with the Socialist International, but it does not have any status.

Ata-Meken (Fatherland) Socialist Party
Chairperson: Omurbek Tekebayev
Omurbek Tekebayev founded Ata-Meken in 1992 following a split from the Erkin Kyrgyzstan party. The party calls for a democratic state and economic reforms and can be considered centre left. It favours compromise between various social sectors and government bodies. Tekebayev, who was Speaker of Parliament from March 2005 till February 2006, but resigned after a clash with President Bakiyev, is an important opposition figure to the current
President. Ata-Meken is currently strengthening its ranks with members of the Parliament representing different regions, thereby hoping to widen its support base.

Communist Party
Chairperson: Ishak Absamatovich Masaliev
The Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan (KPK) says to have about 2000 members and is one of the largest parties in Kyrgyzstan. The party was founded in 1992 and is represented in the Parliament by one person, its leader Masaliev. He is the son of former party-leader Absamat Masaliev, who led the party until his dead in 2004. The party’s ideology could be considered as social democratic. It accepts a pluralistic political system and the market economy but is strongly opposed to the privatization of public assets such as the energy system. In 1999 a small Stalinist group has split away from the party, calling itself ‘Party of Communists of Kyrgyzstan (PKK).

OTHER POLITICAL PARTIES

Ak Jol People’s Party (Bright Way)
Chairperson: Tabyldy Orozaliev
The party was founded by former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on 15 October 2007, to run in the Parliamentary elections in December 2007. The party won the elections and gained 71 of the 90 seats in Parliament. Most of the Ak Jol members are veteran politicians, i.e. individuals who are already engaged in the government and Parliament. In the 2007 Parliamentary elections, the party formed a major bloc with several political forces. One of its top priorities in the elections was to fight corruption, which seemed rather controversial given Bakiyev’s reputation – a head of state that runs a country where corruption is rising among members of his government and close relatives. The party is strongly contested by local NGOs and opposition parties, accusing the party of dominating the political landscape in their own strict autocratic way. Ak Jol is similar to Tajikistan’s People’s Democratic Party and Kazakhstan’s Nur Otan party. Presidents in these countries make use of administrative resources and local government officials to win majorities in Parliament and marginalize the opposition.

Alga Kyrgyzstan (Forward Kyrgyzstan)
Chairperson: Bolot Begaliev
This party was founded in 2003 by Bermet Akayeva, a daughter of former President Akayev, in support of then President Akayev. 24 of the 75 MPs elected in 2005 belonged to this party, but the party has since disintegrated as none of the MPs felt committed to it since Akayev’s ouster. Many of the MPs from Alga Kyrgyzstan can now be found in the deputy groups ‘Birimdik’ and ‘Jibek Jolu’.

Ar-Namys (Dignity)
Chairperson: Felix Kulov
This party was founded in 1999 by Felix Kulov. This party quickly became Kyrgyzstan’s leading opposition party against President Akayev, and announced to run for Parliamentary elections in 2000. However, quickly after this announcement Kulov was arrested for corruption and sentenced to seven years imprisonment by a military court, and the Ar-Namys party was banned from the elections. The party then formed the People’s Congress of Kyrgyzstan electoral alliance together with three other opposition parties, of which Kulov became the chairperson. In 2004, Ar-Namys joined the For Fair Elections opposition alliance in preparation for the 2005 elections that would lead to the Tulip Revolution and the ouster of President Akayev. During these events, Kulov was released and cleared from all charges, and quickly became one of the leading candidates for the Presidential elections. He decided, however, to join forces with Bakiyev, becoming his Prime Minister until he and his cabinet resigned over the new constitution in November 2006. Parliament did not accept his re-nomination to the post of Prime Minister in the beginning of 2007, after which Kulov decided to join the opposition forces again, claiming that President Bakiyev had tried to get rid of him. The party is likely to follow Kulov and to join the opposition. 

 Erkin Kyrgyzstan (Free Kyrgyzstan)
Chairperson: Topchubek Turgunaliev
Erkin Kyrgyzstan was founded in 1991 and could be considered a progressive democratic party. Tursunbek Bakir Uulu, former ombudsman of Kyrgyzstan, who was the most vocal critic of Akayev, belongs to the party. As ombudsman he called for the abolishment of the death penalty, the release of Felix Kulov from prison and an end to the ban on the Islamic movement Hizb-ut Tahrir. He also called the 2005  Parliamentary elections the least free and fair the nation had ever seen. Bakir Uulu also was one of the candidates in the 2005 Presidential elections when he came second with 3.8 per cent of the vote.

Asaba (Flag)
Chairperson: Azimbek Beknazarov
Asaba was founded in 1990 as an opposition party against former President Akayev. Its leaders, Azimbek Baknazarov, was a prominent opposition figure during the 2005 Tulip Revolution. Directly after the revolution, Asaba supported the newly elected President Bakiyev. However, they have switched to (moderate) opposition again out of disappointment over Bakiyev’s current policies and his refusal to secede power to Parliament. The party has a nationalist platform and calls for the review of the agreement with China involving the transfer of 90,000 hectare of territory to the country. Roza Otunbayeva used to be a member of the Asaba party before switching to the Social Democratic Party.

The Uzbek Party
The Uzbek party holds one seat in Parliament and is represented by its vice-President Alisher Achmedovich Sabirov. The party tries to further the interests of Kyrgyzstan’s Uzbek population. Currently ethnic Uzbeks make up 14 per cent of the Kyrgyz population, but for demographic reasons their proportion is increasing, and the party is therefore likely to grow.