Constitutional Reform Process in the Kyrgyz Republic

The United States is increasingly concerned about the constitutional reform process underway in the Kyrgyz Republic. The constitutional referendum scheduled for February 2 will not permit adequate time for public discussion of the government's draft constitutional amendments.

On January 27, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Beth Jones met with Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev. We welcome the President's commitment to introduce changes after the referendum is held that would address concerns about protections for human rights and balance of powers, and we appreciate the willingness of Kyrgyz Government officials and President Akayev to engage in frank discussions of our concerns. We view, however, their recent actions as damaging to the development of civil society in the Kyrgyz Republic.

President Akayev launched the constitutional reform process in September 2002 in order to shift the balance of power from the executive to the legislative and judicial branches of government. Initial positive steps included a Constitutional Council in which a wide spectrum of political representatives worked to form a broad consensus on constitutional reforms.

However, the new Constitutional draft published on January 13 does not appear to take into account many of the views of the Constitutional Council, thereby seriously undermining this broadly representative process. The draft also contains a number of provisions that fall short of international standards and would further concentrate power in the presidency and weaken the role of civil society.