Parliament May Dissolve in Autumn
Parliament May Dissolve in Autumn
There is increasing talk of the Kyrgyz parliament being dissolved this autumn when political activity steps up after the summer break, say NBCentralAsia experts.
On August 3, former prime minister and opposition leader Felix Kulov said the government was planning to dissolve parliament after the summer recess.
The current parliament was elected in spring 2005 and should serve until 2010. This is not the first time that the idea of dissolving it has been floated. During opposition demonstrations in April, several opposition legislators said they were ready to call for dissolution.
Last autumn, too, the pro-government Erkindik party led a campaign to collect the 300,000 signatures needed to initiate the process of dissolving parliament.
Even though neither of these attempts succeeded, NBCentralAsia experts say it quite possible that parliament will be dissolved this autumn.
Political analyst Alexander Knyazev says holding fresh elections would give the government more time to recapture some popularity, while the public will probably support the idea.
“The remainder of 2007 will be taken up with an election campaign. The authorities will try to use this time to their own benefit,” he said.
Political scientist Toktogul Kakchekeev says the authorities will use every available resource to get pro-presidential individuals and parties elected to parliament.
Under changes to the constitution adopted in December, half the seats in parliament will be elected from party lists in the next election.
However, the director of the Centre for Political and Legal Studies, Tamerlan Ibraimov, does not believe there is any justification for dissolving parliament, and he argues that doing so now would do nothing to improve the current situation.
Most parliamentarians appear to be against the idea. Member of parliament Temir Sariev explains that 51 of the 75 legislators would need to vote in favour of dissolution for it to go through, and he does not believe this majority will be achieved.
“And if the authorities try to dissolve parliament by coercive methods, this will destabilise the country,” he added.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
On August 3, former prime minister and opposition leader Felix Kulov said the government was planning to dissolve parliament after the summer recess.
The current parliament was elected in spring 2005 and should serve until 2010. This is not the first time that the idea of dissolving it has been floated. During opposition demonstrations in April, several opposition legislators said they were ready to call for dissolution.
Last autumn, too, the pro-government Erkindik party led a campaign to collect the 300,000 signatures needed to initiate the process of dissolving parliament.
Even though neither of these attempts succeeded, NBCentralAsia experts say it quite possible that parliament will be dissolved this autumn.
Political analyst Alexander Knyazev says holding fresh elections would give the government more time to recapture some popularity, while the public will probably support the idea.
“The remainder of 2007 will be taken up with an election campaign. The authorities will try to use this time to their own benefit,” he said.
Political scientist Toktogul Kakchekeev says the authorities will use every available resource to get pro-presidential individuals and parties elected to parliament.
Under changes to the constitution adopted in December, half the seats in parliament will be elected from party lists in the next election.
However, the director of the Centre for Political and Legal Studies, Tamerlan Ibraimov, does not believe there is any justification for dissolving parliament, and he argues that doing so now would do nothing to improve the current situation.
Most parliamentarians appear to be against the idea. Member of parliament Temir Sariev explains that 51 of the 75 legislators would need to vote in favour of dissolution for it to go through, and he does not believe this majority will be achieved.
“And if the authorities try to dissolve parliament by coercive methods, this will destabilise the country,” he added.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
