APRIL 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan’s parliament confirmed the new governing coalition would be made up of the same partners as the previous one — the Social Democratic Party, Ar-Namys and Ata-Meken.

The only apparent difference is the PM who is likely to be Djoomart Otorbayev, a deputy prime minister in the last two coalition governments.

But Mr Otorbayev is already a divisive choice. He is a former World Bank technocrat and in Kyrgyzstan’s partisan politics that sits uncomfortably with many.

What he lacks, decried Kyrgyz MP Jusupali Isayev, is a certain Kyrgyz-ness. Mr Isayev said that his World Bank training is all very well but Mr Otorbayev is out-of-touch with ordinary Kyrgyz as he doesn’t know how to keep livestock or dry apricots.

Indeed, Mr Otorbayev has already signalled where he lies on the central debate in Kyrgyzstan between nationalist policies and attracting essential foreign investment, when he said that he would not look to re-negotiate a new deal with Toronto-based Centerra Gold over the Kumtor gold mine.

In February, the Kyrgyz government and Centerra Gold agreed a 50:50 ownership deal of the gold mine.

Kumtor is key to the Kyrgyz economy. It currently accounts for 10% of GDP.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 178, published on April 2 2014)

MARCH 20 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyz president Almazbek Atambayev tasked his Social Democrat party with forming a government after the Ata Meken party walked out of a coalition, causing it to collapse earlier this month. Forming a stable government from Kyrgyzstan’s fractious parliament is notoriously difficult.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 177, published on March 26 2014)

MARCH 18 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) — The third government coalition of Kyrgyzstan’s relatively young parliamentary democracy collapsed after the Ata-Meken faction walked out, accusing PM Jantoro Satybaldiev of corruption.

The coalition collapse ends Mr Satybaldiev’s premiership and throws up questions over Kyrgyzstan’s negotiations with Canada’s Centerra Gold over ownership of the Kumtor Gold mine — worth roughly 10% of Kyrgyz GDP. Mr Satybaldiev has stood up to demands to nationalise the mine and earlier this year negotiated a new equity deal. It’s unclear if that deal will still stand after his exit.

The three-party coalition had ruled Kyrgyzstan since September 2012 but a furore over the early release from jail of a Chechen crime baron and accusations that Mr Satybaldiev personally profited from the rebuilding of the south of the country after riots in 2010 have dogged his premiership.

The economy, too, has limped along, frustrating many.

Just how the coalition collapse will affect President Almazbek Atambayev reminds to be seen. He may have to call a parliamentary election to form a new government. A change in Kyrgyzstan’s constitution handed it a powerful parliament in October 2010.

One thing is certain, though, the latest government collapse highlights how politically unstable Kyrgyzstan is.

ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved

(News report from Issue No. 176, published on March 19 2014)