Kyrgyzstan holds parliamentary elections
Kyrgyzstan will hold parliamentary elections today.
Seats in the country’s Supreme Council are proportionally distributed; however, no single party may hold more than 65 seats. Only four of the 16 parties running in this election are currently represented in parliament – Kyrgyzstan Party, Republika, Birl Bol, and Ata-Meken. Following internal feuding, the Social Democratic Party, which currently hold the most seats in parliament, has broken up and formed into a new party, the Social Democrats. Pro-government parties Birimdik, Mekenim Kyrgyzstan, and Kyrgyzstan Party are expected to perform well
While Kyrgyzstan’s past elections have been rife with corruption, Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov has implemented a biometric voting system to prevent ballot stuffing and tightened restrictions on administrative resources used to prevent voter bribery, a common issue in the country.
On the foreign policy front, a pro-government victory would strengthen ties with Russia, leading to increased economic investment and debt forgiveness from Moscow. Such an electoral outcome would likely cause a sustained souring of relations with neighbouring Kazakhstan over issues of cross-border smuggling. Such a reality that could see increased border checks by Kazakh authorities, stressing the feasibility of free trade between the two Eurasian Economic Union members.
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