OCT. 20 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Thousands of supporters of a Kyrgyz party that narrowly missed out on representation in parliament after an election protested
throughout the week in Bishkek. The Butun Kyrgyzstan party, a nationalist grouping, says it has been robbed and has pledged to hold street rallies until the result is changed.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 12, published on Oct. 21 2010)
OCT. 10 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — An election in Kyrgyzstan designed to create Central Asia’s first parliamentary democracy failed to produce a majority winner. The five parties that won seats will now build a coalition. The Ata-Zhurt party, associated with deposed former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, won the most seats with 28 in the 120-seat parliament.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 11, published on Oct. 14 2010)
OCT. 1 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan is tense but stable ahead of an election on Oct. 10 intended to create Central Asia’s first parliamentary democracy, the OSCE said. Analysts said it was unlikely that any party would win a majority in the vote which an estimated 3,300 candidates from 29 different parties are contesting.
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(News report from Issue No. 10, published on Oct. 7 2010)
SEPT. 30 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili will be 46-years-old when he reaches the end of his second and final four-year term in 2013.
He is energetic and ambitious, so what will he do?
Vladimir Putin faced a similar dilemma in 2008 when the Russian Constitution forced him to step down as president. Putin moved to become an empowered prime minister.
Now, Mr Saakashvili’s opponents say he plans a similar move. They say changes to the Constitution which easily passed a first reading in the 150-seat Parliament on Sept. 24 are designed with him in mind.
The proposed changes, which still need to pass two more readings to become law, will cede domestic and foreign policy from the president to a powerful prime minister.
Under the draft law, the transfer of power would occur in 2013 after the next Georgian presidential election.
Mr Saakashvili denies the changes have been tailored for him to retain power. He says they are needed to speed Georgia’s development.
Despite losing popularity after a war against Russia in 2008, Mr Saakashvili retains a tight grip on power. A close ally won an election to become mayor of Tbilisi in August and his Untied National Movement party currently dominates the Georgian parliament.
The next parliamentary election is scheduled for 2012.
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(News report from Issue No. 9, published on Sept. 30 2010)
SEPT. 13 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s President Roza Otunbayeva replaced several top judicial and law enforcement officials. Ms Otunbayeva has said she is worried about violence at the Oct. 10 parliamentary election. She replaced the Prosecutor-General, the Interior Minister and the head of the Supreme Court.
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(News report from Issue No. 7, published on Sept. 16 2010)
SEPT. 7 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva hinted that she could cancel next month’s parliamentary elections if she thought politicians were using the vote to stir up ethnic tension. Hundreds died in June during clashes between ethnics Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in the south of the country.
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(News report from Issue No. 6, published on Sept. 9 2010)
