The politics of Kyrgyzstan, officially known as the Kyrgyz Republic, takes place in the framework of a presidential system representative democratic republic, whereby the President is head of state and the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers is head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Kyrgyzstan an "authoritarian regime" in 2022.
The president of Kyrgyzstan, officially the president of the Kyrgyz Republic, is the head of state and head of government of the Kyrgyz Republic. The president directs the executive branch of the national government, is the commander-in-chief of the Kyrgyz military and also heads the National Security Council.
The Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) was a centre-left political party in Kyrgyzstan. The SDPK was one of the oldest and largest political parties in the country. The party took an active part in the Tulip Revolution and the 2010 Revolution. The party's members included three presidents of Kyrgyzstan: Roza Otunbayeva, Almazbek Atambayev and Sooronbay Jeenbekov.
Almazbek Sharshenovich Atambayev is a Kyrgyz politician who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 1 December 2011 to 24 November 2017. He was Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from 17 December 2010 to 1 December 2011, and from 29 March 2007 to 28 November 2007. He served as Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) from 30 July 1999 to 23 September 2011.
Presidential elections were held in Kyrgyzstan on 23 July 2009. The date was set after the constitutional court ruled that the extension of the presidential term from four to five years did not apply until the next presidential election, calling for elections by 25 October 2009; in response, a parliament committee proposed the July election date, which was then passed by the incumbent president Kurmanbek Bakiyev's Ak Jol-dominated parliament. Bakiyev had previously announced his intention to run for reelection. Bakiyev was re-nominated on 1 May 2009.
Temir Agrembaevich Sariyev is a Kyrgyz politician who was Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from 2015 to 2016. He was a presidential candidate for the 2009 elections, receiving 157,005 (6.74%) votes. Sariyev was a candidate in the country's 2017 presidential elections, in which he garnered 2.54% of the vote and came in fourth place.
Ömürbek Toktogulovich Babanov is a Kyrgyz businessman and politician who served twice as the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan briefly from 2011 to 2012. Owner of Mbank and of Asia Cement, a company that co-operates with the Russian nuclear industry.
Arstanbek Beishanalievich Abdyldayev, also known as Arstan Alai, was a Kyrgyz politician and businessman. He most notably was one of 86 initial candidates in the 2011 presidential election, where he received 8,770 votes and came in 9th. During his campaign, he became famous for his promise that there would be no winter, and the West would suffer from floods.
Sooronbay Sharip uulu Jeenbekov is a Kyrgyz politician who served as the fifth president of Kyrgyzstan from 2017 until his resignation in 2020, following a week of protests. Prior to that he served as the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from April 2016 to August 2017.
Bakyt Ergeshevich Torobayev is a Kyrgyz politician who has been the leader of the Onuguu-Progress party since 2013.
Rayimberdi Seydakmatovich Duishenbiev is a Kyrgyzstani General who served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic from 11 May 2016 to 9 October 2020. He is also the former commander of the Kyrgyzstan Frontier Force.
United Kyrgyzstan is a nationalist political party in Kyrgyzstan founded in 2010. It is generally more popular in the south of the country. The party is led by Adakhan Madumarov, who unsuccessfully ran for president of Kyrgyzstan in 2011 and 2017, coming second and third, respectively. It holds an ethnic nationalist ideology and supports a presidential system of government. The party was originally created to support Kyrgyz migrant laborers in Russia. The party won its first seats in the Supreme Council in the October 2020 parliamentary election, which was subsequently annulled. The party passed the 3% threshold in the 2021 parliamentary election and therefore is represented in the national legislature.
The Inauguration of Sooronbay Jeenbekov as the president of Kyrgyzstan took place on November 24, 2017, in the Enesay reception house of the Ala Archa State Residence in Bishkek. The inauguration was declared the first peaceful transition of power in Kyrgyzstan in its 26-year history by foreign analyst.
Parliamentary elections were held in Kyrgyzstan on 4 October 2020. The results showed that pro-government parties had won a supermajority of seats. The election was subsequently annulled by the Central Election Commission during the 2020 Kyrgyzstan protests.
Mekenim Kyrgyzstan is a centre-right political party in Kyrgyzstan which was founded in 2015. In August 2020, Ata-Zhurt announced it would be running on a joint list with the party for the upcoming elections. The party is viewed as supportive of Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov.
The 2020 Kyrgyz Revolution, also known as the Third Kyrgyz Revolution, began on 5 October 2020, in response to the previous day's parliamentary election that was perceived by protestors as unfair, with allegations of electoral fraud. The results of the election were annulled on 6 October 2020. On 12 October 2020, President Jeenbekov announced a state of emergency in the capital city of Bishkek, which was approved by Parliament the following day. Jeenbekov resigned on 15 October 2020.
Snap parliamentary elections were held in Kyrgyzstan on 28 November 2021. They followed the annulment of the results of the October 2020 elections and the subsequent protests against the election's conduct. Six parties passed the 5% threshold needed to win seats in the parliament. Turnout hit a record low at less than 35%.
The Social Democrats is a political party in Kyrgyzstan founded in late 2019 by supporters of former President Almazbek Atambayev – legal successor from the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDKP). After a conflict between Atambaev and his successor President Sooronbai Jeenbekov emerged and deepened in 2018, Atambayev accused of Jeenbekov in attempting to seize authority over the SDKP, a party that Atambayev himself formed in 1990s and served as a leader of. The SDK participated in the annulled 2020 parliamentary election. The current party leader is Temirlan Sultanbekov.
The Koy-Tash events is a term referred to a series of political events that took place in August 2019 in the village of Koi-Tash, Kyrgyzstan. These events were associated with an attempt to detain the former President of the country, Almazbek Atambayev, which led to clashes between his supporters and security forces. This was a key moment in the modern history of Kyrgyzstan, which revealed the depth of political tension in the country and sparked numerous discussions about the legitimacy of the authorities' actions and human rights and led to the overthrow of President Sooronbay Jeenbekov in October 2020.
