“For now, the parliamentary majority coalition will continue to work”, said Kamchibek Tashiev, leader of the Ata Jurt parliamentary faction, following a high-powered meeting of the group on March 22. By this statement, Tashiev may have laid speculations around the potential collapse of the alliance to rest, but not without a note of caution. He added that the prospect of leaving the coalition will remain a matter for further discussion.
Three months ago, three parties including the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, Ata Jurt (Fatherland) and Respublika joined forces to form a parliamentary coalition, controlling 77 of 120 seats in the house. The leader of the Social Democrats, Almazbek Atambaev, was elected Prime Minister, whereas Respublika’s leader Omurbek Babanov was appointed his first deputy. Akhmatbek Keldibekov, one of the leaders of Ata Jurt, became the Speaker of Parliament. Despite bringing the largest numbers to the majority coalition and being the largest party in parliament, Ata Jurt was not able to secure a position of influence in the government, something that the faction is now seemingly striving for.
The faction’s disenchantment with the coalition is twofold: the lack of coordinated work among the coalition partners and the faction’s inability to play a crucial role in government decision making. Tashiev contends that that ever since the coalition was formed, the allies have not convened even once to coordinate their work. Amidst rising discontent and allegations of corruption surfacing against vice PM Babanov, Ata Jurt is seriously contemplating to withdraw its support.
Opposition parties have accused Babanov of seizing large businesses in the country and promoting the interests of a fuel supply company owned by his relatives, against the public interest. Moreover, during a recent visit to Bishkek, Russian parliamentarians alleged that Babanov was seeking to wrest control of “Megacom”, Kyrgyzstan’s largest cellular operator and second largest taxpayer, from Russian investors. The parliamentarians Semen Bogdosarov and Alexey Ostrovskiy claimed that Babanov had demanded a kickback of US$ 50 million to “resolve the issue”. The vice Prime Minister on his part, denied all charges and called the accusations attempts by political opponents to dissolve the coalition.
However, this is not the first time that the Ata Jurt group has met to discuss their disgruntlement with the present arrangement. On March 11, it held a meeting at the height of the corruption scandal involving Babanov. The faction exhorted the government to respond to the charges by March 22, followed by a letter to the Prime Minister on March 15.
The letter listed 10 demands regarding changes to the coalition agreements. The principal one is the creation of a coalition council to serve as the prime decision-making body for the government. It also sought an assurance from the Prime Minister that in case he decided to run for president, he would resign from his current post within 10 days after the announcement of the presidential election. His successor would in that case be elected through open voting at the general session of the coalition partners.
In response to the 10-point memorandum of demands, Atambaev stated that he agreed to most of the demands in principle. However, he expressed his reservations over certain proposed changes as “contradictory to the Kyrgyz constitution and legislation”. It is illogical to consider them since these offered changes are subject to parliamentary review and only parliament can make these changes, Atambaev concluded.
Meanwhile, coalition members have conceded to the demand for a coalition council, consisting of three members from each faction. In addition, they have agreed to create a working group within the coalition, consisting of five members from each faction to ensure smooth and effective functioning of the alliance.
Political experts have expressed little optimism regarding structural changes within the coalition. The changes are perceived as means to secure more power in the wake of the impending presidential elections. Most political experts contend that the breakup of the coalition is a matter of time. Local political analyst Marat Kazakpaev, for example, argues that the inherent differences between the three parties made the coalition unsustainable from the beginning. Thus, in his opinion, a breakdown of the current cooperation format seems inevitable.