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1 1 (September 01, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbpo0001 and id is 1 raw text is: &~ ~ riE SE .$rCh &~ ~ ~ gognpo go g , q 's a X 11LULANJILiN, Updated September 1, 2020 Kyrgyz Republic The Kyrgyz Republic (commonly known as Kyrgyzstan) is a mountainous, landlocked country that borders China and maintains close ties with Russia. Formerly a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan became independent in 1991. As a parliamentary republic that holds contested elections, Kyrgyzstan has long been considered the most democratic country in Central Asia, with a vibrant civil society and a higher degree of press freedom than found elsewhere in the region. Corruption is pervasive, however, and political institutions remain weak. In recent years, international observers have voiced concerns about democratic backsliding in Kyrgyzstan. Some Members of Congress have also expressed concerns about government pressure on independent media outlets, including the congressionally-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Because Kyrgyzstan is an impoverished country that relies heavily on foreign remittances, the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is causing significant economic strain. Government: Kyrgyzstan has twice experienced revolutions that ousted authoritarian-leaning presidents, first in 2005 and again in 2010. A new constitution adopted in 2010 converted the country to a semi-parliamentary system and imposed a one-term limit on presidents, who are elected directly via universal suffrage and serve for six years. The prime minister, nominated by the parliamentary majority and appointed by the president, shares executive power. Kyrgyzstan's unicameral parliament, the Jogorku Kenesh (Supreme Council), has 120 members; deputies are elected to five-year terms in a closed-list proportional electoral system. Political landscape: In recent years, the ruling Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK) has moved to consolidate its position, using state resources to pressure political opponents and civil society. Although Kyrgyzstan enjoys a greater degree of political pluralism than its Central Asian neighbors, in the assessment of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, political parties are characterized by the personalities leading them, rather than by their platforms, which overlap significantly. Governing coalitions are frequently unstable, and the prime minister has been replaced 12 times since the 2010 revolution. Kyrgyzstan's political landscape is shifting due in part to an ongoing feud between President Sooronbai Jeenbekov (in office since 2017) and his predecessor and former patron, Almazbek Atambayev (in office 2011-2017), which has led to a split in the SDPK. In June 2020 Atambayev was sentenced to 11 years and 2 months in prison on corruption-related charges. He also faces murder charges stemming from an August 2019 law enforcement raid on his compound that left one member of the security services dead. Figure I. Map of the Kyrgyz Republic Source: Graphic created by CRS 2020 Parliamentary Elections: The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 4, 2020. The two major parliamentary factions have fractured internally and there are no clear front-runners in the 2020 elections; it is possihle that new groupings will enter the Jo go rku Kenesh. Human Rights: According to the U.S. State Department, major human rights concerns in Kyrgyzstan include torture and arbitrary detention, inadequate judicial independence, severe restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of the press, and corruption. In 2015, the State Department recognized imprisoned activist Azimjon Askarov with its Human Rights Defender Award, leading to significant friction in the U.S.-Kyrgyz bilateral relationship. Askarov died in prison on July 24, 2020, possibly of COVID-19. In June 2020, Kyrgyzstan's parliament passed a law that would enable authorities to censor websites containing information they determined to be untruthful and require internet service providers to turn user data over to government agencies on request. After the bill sparked protests and drew criticism from international observers, the president returned it to the legislature for revision. Draft bills that would impose financial reporting requirements on nongovernmental organizations and restrict workers' right to organize have also drawn international criticism. Terrorism: Although terrorist attacks within Kyrgyzstan are rare, about 800 Kyrgyz nationals travelled to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State or other terrorist groups; more than 200 are estimated to have died over the course of the Syrian conflict. Government plans to repatriate Kyrgyz citizens, primarily women and children, were disrupted by unrest in Iraq and Turkey's October 2019 military incursion into northern Syria. Some 300 Kyrgyz nationals have returned to the country, and about 50 have been imprisoned. Foreign fighters from Central Asia remain an international concern due to their ongoing participation in armed groups active in Syria and Afghanistan.

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