Kyrgyzstan’s President Sooronbay Jeenbekov consolidated his power on Saturday by sacking several senior security officials in the country and re-detaining his main opponent, former President Almazbek Atambayev.
Kyrgyzstan, which hosts a Russian military air base and serves as a hub for trade with neighboring China, has been in turmoil since October 4, the date of a disputed election that was later called off.
State of emergency proclaimed
On Friday, Sooronbai Jeenbekov declared a state of emergency in Bishkek and ordered the army to restore order in the capital, after clashes in the middle of the street between supporters of opposing political camps.
Parliamentarians close to power also voted on Saturday in favor of the only candidate for prime minister, Sadyr Japarov, whom opposition members accuse of colluding with the president.
Since Monday, more than 1,200 people have been injured and one has been killed in clashes that erupted after parliamentary elections in which parties supporting the ruling power had won a landslide victory the day before.
Released from prison on Tuesday, where he was serving a long prison sentence for corruption, the former president and opponent Almazbek Atambayev was again arrested for inciting rebellion.
Institutional reforms
Before his appointment as Prime Minister, Sadyr Japarov called for institutional reforms before the calling of new legislative and presidential elections. He told parliament that President Sooronbay Jeenbekov confirmed his intention to step down once a new government was formed.
This new political crisis in Kyrgyzstan is putting the Kremlin’s influence on the former Soviet empire to the test, already facing the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the revolt in Belarus.
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