Kyrgyz Supreme Court Refuses Appeal Challenging Election Delay

BISHKEK — Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal filed by the Central Election Commission (BShK) challenging a recently adopted law that canceled a decision to rerun parliamentary elections on December 20.

The Supreme Court explained its October 29 decision to return the appeal to the BShK citing a “lack of documents proving that the plaintiff had paid the due state fee.”

It is not clear if the BShK will refile the appeal that came after weeks of political upheaval over disputed elections that toppled the Central Asian nation’s government and prompted the resignation of President Sooronbai Jeenbekov.

The chaos erupted after allegations of vote-buying and other improprieties marred the October 4 parliamentary vote.

Mass protests over the vote tally, which gave victory mainly to parties aligned with Jeenbekov’s government, prompted the BShK to annul the results of the parliamentary vote and schedule new parliamentary election for December 20.

However, on October 22, acting President Sadyr Japarov signed amendments to the constitutional law on elections which postponed the new parliamentary vote to an unspecified date in 2021 and led to the BShK decision to set January 10 as the date for an early presidential election.

Japarov, a former nationalist lawmaker who was jailed on charges of kidnapping a political rival in 2017, was freed from prison in the midst of the demonstrations, and then approved as prime minister by parliament on October 14.

He also took over the powers of the presidency when Jeenbekov vacated the post in mid-October and is set to serve as acting president until the January election.

Kyrgyzstan’s constitution forbids a person serving as an acting or interim president from taking part in a presidential election so Japarov announced on October 25 that he will step down before the end of the year and thus become eligible to run in the January 10 vote.