The history of the Kyrgyz people and the land now called Kyrgyzstan goes back more than 3,000 years. Although geographically isolated by its mountainous location, it had an important role as part of the historical Silk Road trade route. Turkic nomads, who trace their ancestry to many Turkic states such as the First and Second Turkic Khaganates, have inhabited the country throughout its history. In the 13th century, Kyrgyzstan was conquered by the Mongols; subsequently it regained independence but was invaded by Kalmyks, Manchus, and Uzbeks. In 1876, it became part of the Russian Empire, remaining in the USSR as the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic after the Russian Revolution. Following Mikhael Gorbachev's democratic reforms in the USSR, in 1990 pro-independence candidate Askar Akayev was elected president of the SSR. On 31 August 1991, Kyrgyzstan declared independence from Moscow, and a democratic government was subsequently established.
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.
Kyrgyzstan elects on the national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature. The president is elected for a tenure of single six-year term by the people. The Supreme Council is composed of 120 members filled by proportional representation.
Omurbek Chirkeshovich Tekebayev is a Kyrgyz politician. He was Speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament from March 2005 to March 2006. Tekebaev is the leader of the Ata-Meken socialist party. Currently, he serves as the ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to Germany.
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.
The Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan, also known as the Jogorku Kengesh, is the unicameral parliament of Kyrgyzstan. Before Kyrgyzstan's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, it was known as the Supreme Soviet of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic.
Early parliamentary elections were held in Kyrgyzstan on 10 October 2010. All 120 seats of the Supreme Council were elected by the party list system. Seats were allocated to all parties who obtained more than 5% of the vote overall and more than 0.5% in each of the nine provinces, capped at 65 seats per party.
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.
Bir Bol, officially the Political Party of State Unity and Patriotism "Bir Bol", was a liberal political party in Kyrgyzstan. It was led by Altynbek Sulaymanov. The party had been described having 'low visibility'. The party entered parliament for the first time with in 2015, following the 2015 Kyrgyz parliamentary election in which it garnered 8.52% of the vote. It lost all its 12 seats in the 2020 Kyrgyz parliamentary election, which was subsequently annulled. The party participated in the 2021 elections as part of the Alliance party.
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.
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.
Birimdik officially the Party of Democratic Socialism—Eurasian Choice "Birimdik" is a pro-Jeenbekov political party in Kyrgyzstan, founded in 2005 as the Birimdik Democratic Party. On May 8, 2013 it was registered with the current name. The party includes many former officials and deputies.
The 2020 Kyrgyz Revolution, also known as the Third Kyrgyz Revolution or October Events, 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.
Sadyr Nurgojo uulu Japarov is a Kyrgyz politician who has been serving as the president of Kyrgyzstan since 28 January 2021. He previously held the post of acting prime minister of Kyrgyzstan in the 2020 interim government, following the resignation of President Sooronbay Jeenbekov. Japarov also became acting president of Kyrgyzstan after Jeenbekov's resignation, but resigned himself on 14 November 2020 to run for the 2021 presidential election, in which he was elected to succeed the acting president, Talant Mamytov.
Snap presidential elections were held in Kyrgyzstan on 10 January 2021, alongside a constitutional referendum. The elections were called early following the resignation of President Sooronbay Jeenbekov in the wake of the 2020 Kyrgyzstani protests.
A referendum was held in Kyrgyzstan on 10 January 2021 alongside presidential elections. The referendum asked voters if Kyrgyzstan should adopt a presidential system of government, a parliamentary system, or neither. 84% of voters chose to readopt a presidential system.
Mekenchil, officially the "Patriotic" Political Party is a national-conservative political party in Kyrgyzstan, which was founded in 2010.
The Constitution of Kyrgyzstan is the supreme law of the Kyrgyz Republic. Kyrgyzstan first got a constitution in 1993, a year and a half after the country had gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It has gone through a few constitutions, with the last one being adopted in April 2021.
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.
Parliamentary elections are due to be held in Kyrgyzstan in 2025.
