NEW GOVERNMENT FORMED IN KYRGYZSTAN
The breakup of Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary majority coalition and dismissal of the government as a result of corruption allegations against Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov has led to the formation of a new government. While many consider the new Prime Minister, Jantoro Satybaldiev, an “anti-crisis manager” in light of the serious economic problems the country is facing, others are skeptical of his capability to bring about significant changes.
On September 12, the newly-formed cabinet of ministers took an oath at the national parliament in the presence of the country’s president, Almazbek Atambaev. The new government, which was formed in an unexpectedly short period of time, received the votes of 111 parliamentarians out of the present 113. A majority of the parliament members also supported the candidacy of Satybaldiev, previously chief of the presidential administration, to the Prime Minister’s post offered by the new parliamentary ruling coalition. The government structure remains the same with most of the members of government staying on their posts.
Despite the expectations of a difficult and lengthy process to form a new parliamentary majority coalition, which has been the case in the past, the three parliamentary factions Ata Meken, Ar Namys and Social-Democratic Party managed to reach a quick agreement on the formation of a new ruling coalition, leaving the other two factions, Respublika and Ata Jurt, in opposition. It is notable that two of the coalition members, Ata Meken and Ar Namys, instigated the government’s dismissal by leaving the previous ruling coalition. These two factions accused the previous head of the government Omurbek Babanov of corruption and of putting his personal business interests above those of the state.
The new Prime Minister Satybaldiev has held various senior positions under all Kyrgyz presidents in the past. During different periods he has served as Transport Minister, Osh City Mayor, Osh oblast governor, and Director of the government agency on reconstruction and development in Osh and Jalalabad cities after the ethnic violence in 2010. After Atambaev became president, Satybaldiev was appointed the chief of his administration.
Satybaldiev is considered to be a compromise figure among different influential political groups. Despite the fact that he is not officially affiliated with the pro-presidential Social Democratic party, he is seen as one of the most loyal supporters of the president. The new head of government is known as an experienced and diplomatic politician whose non-confrontational approach seems to satisfy more or less all political groups in the country. The leader of the Ata Meken parliamentary faction, Omurbek Tekebaev, described him as the “right person at the right moment.” Being born in the south of the country, his candidacy is also expected to alleviate the north-south political rivalry.
Many experts acknowledge that the selection of Satybaldiev as head of the cabinet of ministers will ease the heated political situation in the country. At the same time, experts claim that Satybaldiev’s appointment is part of a well-designed plan on the part of President Atambaev to take control over government. They note that Atambaev will now have a technocratic Prime Minister, who does not have big political ambitions and lacks wide public support, as opposed to the independent-minded and popular Babanov.
In the meantime, Satybaldiev has already outlined the main priorities of his cabinet. He quickly began work without changing the government’s structure and allowed most of its members to remain in office, arguing that there is no time for reorganization and emphasizing his general adherence to the previous Prime Minister’s course. He named the restoration of a vertical power structure and the fight against political corruption as his main priorities. Talking about the country’s most prominent problem, a state budget deficit estimated at 21 billion soms, Satybaldiev emphasized the need for budget sequestration.
Most local political experts already discuss how long this government will survive. Some claim that in light of the economic problems widely believed to be almost impossible to solve, the new Prime Minister will also resign in the near future, in turn forecasting a serious political and economic crisis in the country. Others think that the open confrontation and disagreements among the political groups in parliament will result in yet another dismissal of the government. However, most experts say that the political elite understands that another government dismissal will bring the country to a point of no return and will search for compromises to allow the government more room for maneuver, thus allowing it to function for a longer period of time. t no final decision was taken. Armenia will most likely retain the beneficial price this winter. This is a limited burden for Russia as the quantities used by Armenia only represents a fraction of Russian exports.
