OCT. 1 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — On a trip to Tbilisi, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO remained committed to granting Georgia full membership of the alliance. The day before a landmine in Afghanistan killed four Georgian soldiers, including a colonel. Georgia has about 925 soldiers in Afghanistan.
ENDS
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(News report from Issue No. 10, published on Oct. 7 2010)
OCT. 7 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — After a revolution in April, Kyrgyzstan voted in a referendum on June 27 for a new Constitution that aims to shift the balance of power from the president to Parliament. Below are the main points from the constitution that should shape Kyrgyzstan’s government following a parliamentary election on Oct. 10, 2010:
– Parliament was enlarged to 120 seats from 90 seats. Each parliament is elected for five years under proportional representation. No party can hold more than 65 seats.
– A coalition has to form a government within 15 days of an election or the president can intervene.
– Political parties are banned from being formed on ethnic or religious grounds. The election code already stated women have to make up at least 30% of parties’ candidate lists.
– Members of the military, police and judiciary are not allowed to join a political party.
– The PM has control over the budget and fiscal policy.
– The president appoints key posts such as the Prosecutor-General, the head of the Central Bank, the head of the Supreme Court and the heads of the defence and security agencies but Parliament has varying degrees of oversight.
– The president signs legislation. He or she has the right to send proposed laws back to parliament but does not have a veto.
– The president is limited to a single 6 year term.
– The Supreme Court and not the Constitutional Court will interpret the Constitution.
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(News report from Issue No. 10, published on Oct. 7 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. 24 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s parliament voted in favour of changing the Constitution to create a powerful PM. Opponents of the changes say they are designed to bolster Mikheil Saakashvili who has to step down as president in 2013. The proposed changes need to pass two more readings to come into force.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 9, published on Sept. 30 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. 29 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh financial police started an investigation into health minister Zhaksylyk Doskaliyev for abuse of office but a court refused to approve an arrest warrant for him saying that he was too unwell. The financial police said Mr Doskaliyev had faked a heart attack.
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(News report from Issue No. 9, published on Sept. 30 2010)
SEPT. 22 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a boost for Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s state press service reported that Donald Trump, a U.S. property developer, signed a letter of intent to build a tower in Georgia. Foreign investment was key to Georgian economic growth but it slowed after a war in 2008 with Russia.
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(News report from Issue No. 8, published on Sept. 23 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. 16 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s President since independence in 1991, may stay in power until 2020, one of his advisers said. Under constitutional changes in 2007, the 70-year-old Mr Nazarbayev can run for as many presidential terms as he wants. The next presidential election is in 2012.
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Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(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)
