Kyrgyz President Says Parliamentary Elections Will Be Held In Autumn

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov says parliamentary elections in the Central Asian nation will be held in the autumn.

Japarov made the announcement during an interview with Kazakhstan’s Kazinform news agency that was published on March 1, a day before he embarks on an official trip to the country’s northern neighbor.

“We will hold local elections soon. We also plan to hold the referendum [on constitutional amendments]. And in the autumn, parliamentary elections will be held,” Japarov said.

It has been unclear when exactly the next parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan would take place, as the country has been in a political crisis since the last parliamentary elections in October led to protests that triggered the toppling of the government and the resignation of then-President Sooronbai Jeenbekov.

Japarov, who will be making his second trip abroad as president when he heads to Kazakhstan for the two-day trip, was among several prominent politicians freed from prison by protesters during the unrest.

He had been serving a 10-year prison sentence for hostage-taking during a protest against a mining operation in northeast Kyrgyzstan in October 2013. He has denied the charge.

The 52-year-old’s landslide victory came in an election that international observers said “generally respected” fundamental freedoms, even though the vote was not “fully fair.”

Japarov’s first presidential visit was to Moscow on February 24-25, where he discussed bilateral ties between Kyrgyzstan and Russia with President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, and other top of officials.

With reporting by Kazinform