Kyrgyz parliament speaker refuses to step in as acting president

BISHKEK, Oct 16, 2020, TASS. Speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament Kanat Isaev has rejected the offer to serve as the country’s acting president after Sooronbay Jeenbekov’s resignation on October 15, he told a special parliament meeting Friday, TASS reported.

“Considering the political situation as well as the fact that the powers of the current convocation of parliament are expiring, I refuse to fulfil president’s powers,” Isaev said. After his announcement, Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov will become acting president.

In accordance with the legislation, the parliament speaker was supposed to step in following the incumbent president’s resignation.

Following the parliamentary elections on October 4, representatives of parties who failed to secure seats in parliament provoked mass unrest in Bishkek, stormed buildings of state institutions and released former President Almazbek Atambayev as well as other politicians, including Japarov, from detention centers. Later, the downtown Kyrgyz capital also saw clashes between various opposition forces. ‘

‘Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov and Parliament Speaker Dastan Dzhumabekov stepped down. The Central Election Commission declared the results of the recent parliamentary elections null and void. The date for a rerun of the parliamentary elections should be set before November 6. Kyrgyzstan elected new speaker and prime minister on Tuesday and Wednesday. Meanwhile, presidential elections should take place within three months. According to the current legislation, acting President and Prime Minister Japarov cannot take part in them.

Tags: Kyrgyzstan