Kyrgyzstan’s Parliamentary Committee Approves Electoral System Reform
The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Legislation, State Structure, Judicial, Legal Issues, and Regulations in Kyrgyzstan has approved a change to the election system in the country in the first reading. The bill to amend the constitutional law “On Election of the President and Deputies of the Zhogorku Kenesh” was introduced by Speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu, Vice-Speaker Nurbek Sydygaliev, and several other deputies.
Ulan Primov presented details about the draft law, highlighting that it proposes a new mechanism for forming the supreme representative body of the state based on universal equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. Under this new system, 90 members of the Parliament will be elected in multi-mandate territorial constituencies using the majoritarian system. Political parties must also ensure that no more than 70 percent of candidates of the same sex are nominated for the Parliament in these constituencies.
In case of withdrawal, the mandate will be transferred to the next candidate with the highest number of votes from voters who participated in the corresponding constituency. Committee Chairperson Cholpon Sultanbekova stressed the importance of including norms for people with disabilities in the proposed draft law.
President Sadyr Japarov expressed his support for the new election system, stating that it is the most suitable for Kyrgyzstan. These proposed changes aim to enhance the fairness and efficiency of the electoral process in the country.
