Constitutional Referendum in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan holds a referendum on December 11 to vote on amendments to the country’s constitution, this is the seventh such vote in the country’s 25-year history of independence.
The most contentious of the proposed changes deal with shifting state authority from the president and the parliament to the prime minister and the government.
With current president Almazbek Atambaev’s term ending in 2017, opposition parties have accused the president of using the referendum to try to fortify his grip on power beyond his term in office.
Strategically located in the heart of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan is ruled by a fragile coalition government and is faced with numerous economic and security challenges; sitting governments was deposed in violent revolutions in 2005 and 2010.
RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, Radio Azattyk, reaches 40 percent of all Kyrgyzstan residents with comprehensive coverage of the referendum campaign, with daily reporting on developments.
RFE/RL experts are available before, during, and after the polls:
IN BISHKEK:
KASYM RAKHMANKULOV, RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service journalist (ENGLISH, RUSSIAN)
kasymr@gmail.com
mobile: +996.550.668.266
IN PRAGUE:
VENERA DJUMATAEVA, RFE/RL Kyrgyz Service director (ENGLISH, RUSSIAN)
djumataevav@rferl.org
mobile: +420.602.220.232
BRUCE PANNIER, RFE/RL senior Central Asia correspondent
pannierb@rferl.org
mobile: +420.602.660.944
To schedule an interview with any of RFE/RL’s experts, contact Muhammad Tahir (tahirm@rferl.org; +1.202.740.0603) or Martins Zvaners (zvanersm@rferl.org; +1.202.457.6948) in Washington.
Follow the latest developments on RFERL.org.
About RFE/RL
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty is a private, independent international news organization whose programs — radio, Internet, television, and mobile — reach influential audiences in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It is funded by the U.S. Congress through USAGM.