Kyrgyzstan Gets its New Constitution

The new constitution agreed after Kyrgyzstan’s parliament and president reached a compromise has defused the political confrontation for now, at least. But the consensus view among commentators interviewed by NBCentralAsia is that similar crises will recur in the difficult relationship between government and opposition.



President Kurmanbek Bakiev signed the constitution into law on November 9, using a document drafted by a committee consisting of both pro-government and opposition members of parliament. The deal followed on the heels of the first clashes between pro- and anti-government demonstrators, which were broken up by riot police using tear gas and noise grenades.



The new constitution differs both from the constitutional amendments which Bakiev offered to parliament on November 6, and from the draft subsequently approved by the Constituent Assembly, a body set up by opposition members of parliament on the night of November 6-7.



Experts say the new version represents a blend of the presidential and parliamentary systems. The president’s existing powers are curbed, and parliament wins greater authority to form a government.



Under the new constitution, parliament will have 90 members in place of the current 75. Half of them will be elected by proportional representation from party lists and the rest from single-mandate constituencies. Any political party that wins more than 50 per cent of the vote can automatically form a government, but if no party gets such a majority, the president will name a cabinet as he does now.



Before approving this compromise document, President Bakiev demanded a few changes. He asked to be named as a co-author of the draft, and demanded that he retain the right to approve the cabinet’s membership and appoint local judges. In addition, members of parliament acceded to his requests that impeachment proceedings against the president require a three-quarters (rather than two-thirds) majority in parliament, and that he can appoint and dismiss the head of the Central Electoral Committee, the chairman of the National Bank and the prosecutor general without referring to other authority.



The constitutional bill was passed by a parliamentary majority after two readings on the night of November 8. That day, opposition leaders had announced that the rally that had begun on November 2 was over.



Valentin Bogatyrev, vice-president of the Vostok think tank, says the confrontation between the authorities and their opponents ended with the adoption of a new constitution.



“Constitutional reform was the main reason for this confrontation,” he said. “From now on, a constructive dialogue will develop. The radical reforms the opposition wants can be done, in principle.”



Political scientist Tamerlan Ibraimov added, “No acute disputes are likely to arise between opposition and government for a long time. The other demands can be addressed without turning up the political heat.”



Apart from constitutional reform, the opposition Movement for Reforms has been asking for the formation of a coalition government, the resignation of a number of law enforcement officials, and the creation of a public-service television station. Other demands include an investigation into events in the town of Aksy in 2002, when police shot dead a number of peaceful demonstrators, the nationalisation of assets belonging to former president Askar Akaev, and an end to the “family business” - the reference being to close relatives of President Bakiev.



Announcing what the Movement for Reforms plans to do next, parliamentarian Kubatbek Baibolov said it would act within the terms of the new constitution to seek radical reforms to the judicial system and law enforcement agencies, changes to the way officials are appointed, a more vigorous war on corruption, and the restructuring of the State Television and Radio Company into a public-service institution.



Baibolov’s verdict on recent events was that “the Kyrgyz people have proved to the world that they can hold mass meetings in a civilised manner, without going on the rampage, and that they can put demands to the authorities and seek to get them implemented by lawful methods”.



Bogatyrev, on the other hand, argues that President Bakiev is the real winner – he has maintained stability without using force against the opposition, and he has retained substantial powers.



At the same time, he says, a precedent has been set by adopting a constitution in a short space of time and under pressure from a particular political group. That precedent will apply until people begin to respect the law, and until a more sophisticated political culture and elite emerge in Kyrgyzstan.



Bakyt Beshimov, the vice-president of the American University of Central Asia, warns that the new constitution does not mean an end to disputes and crises of power between the various branches of authority.



Jypar Jeksheev, the head of the Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzstan, has already said that calls for a fully parliamentary system will be heard in future years, even though the new constitution lays down the basic principles of parliamentary democracy.



But there are other opposition figures, including deputy Kanybek Imanaliev, who believe the constitution will ensure that the precedent is not repeated, because it already provides for a balance among the various branches of power.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)