Skin & Bones: The Structure of the new Kyrgyz Parliament

by Ryan Weber

"It's fun to write about an ACTUAL Kyrgyz government instead of a hypothetical one."
-Jax Jacobsen, reporter for Central Asia Newswire, in a tweet on December 20th, 2010

With the December 17 announcement of a successful majority coalition agreement, the Kyrgyz Jogorku Kenesh parliament can finally get to the business of governing the Republic after more than 2 months of political stalemate. Following the results of the October 10 elections, 5 parties entered the 120-seat parliament, all far short of the 60 seats necessary to appoint a Prime Minister and other top positions. Ata-Jurt, the largest party, controlled just 28 seats, while Ata-Meken was the smallest with 18.

The successful coalition - even more impressive following the instantaneous collapse of the first such effort led by the Social Democrats (SDPK) - was undertaken by the Respublika party, and included 'pro-grovernment' SDPK as well as the nationalist-tinged Ata-Jurt.

Ata-Meken and Ar-Namys went into the opposition, but are unlikely to caucasus given their radically different positions on domestic and foreign policy. The same could be said of the relationship between SDPK and Ata-Jurt, though the coalition agreement suggests they may have found ways to compromise.

In rapid succession, the new coalition was able to fulfill its mandate by electing the new government's top leadership. Almazbek Atambaev of SDPK becomes Prime Minister (92 votes), Omurbek Babanov of Respublika becomes Deputy Prime Minister (88 votes), and Akhmat Khelidbekov of Ata-Jurt becomes Speaker of Parliament (101 votes).

All three positions are newly-empowered by the 2010 Kyrgyz Constitution, which elevates Parliamentary executives over the Kyrgyz President for the first time in the country's 20 years of independence.

Filling in the Details - Speakers, Committees, & Authority

Since the announcement, work has continued to form committees and dole out positions to other members of the majority and opposition parties. The final structure, which may still be amended, will include 5 Vice Speakers - one from each party - who will apparently rotate sitting next to Khelidbekov in the Jogorku Kenesh assembly. The list even includes 2 women, both from opposition parties. Bodosh Marmyrova will represent Ar-Namsy, and Asiya Sasykbaeva from Ata-Meken. The majority Vice Speakers are Myktybek Abdyldaev (Ata-Jurt), Asylbek Jeenbekov (SDPK), and Bakyt Torobaev (Respublika).

The majority of Parliament will be broken down into multi-party Committees, each with a leader from one of the 5 parties. Members of the majority coalition will control 12 of the 15 (16?) total committees, evenly divided four each. The opposition parties will split 3 committees, including the Committee on Equal Opportunity recently proposed by Ar-Namys, which will also control the important Budget Committee. Ata-Meken will control only the Committee on Corruption, Human Rights, & Non-Profit Organizations, and has named Turatbek Madylbekov as its leader.

The division of committees among the majority coalition speaks volumes to their differing areas of interest and supposed expertise. Respublika, for example, has built its reputation squarely on being pro-business, and will control 3 committees relevant to such endeavors. They are the Committee on Fiscal Policy & Economic Development, the Committee on Tourism, Sports, Youth & Gender Issues, and the Committee on Construction, Transportation & Communications. To this portfolio is added the Committee on International Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary cooperation, and odd amalgam of responsibility, but neatly-tailored to Respublika as both the party that brought together the coalition, and one not seen as overtly pro-Russia or pro-US.

Ata-Jurt is likewise staying close to its areas of interest in selection the Commitee on Energy & Mineral Resources, the Committee on Judicial & Legal Issues, and the Committee on Parliamentary Regulations. Many Ata-Jurt members are previous MPs, or were involved in high-levels of the fallen Bakiev administration, a heritage that has drawn significant scorn from their critics, but which supports put forward as proof of their unique experience. Ata-Jurt will also head the broad-themed Committee on Education, Science, Religion & Culture. Jyldyz Joldosheva has the daunting challenge of leading this committee as a member of a party that has been infamously short on cultural sensitivity regarding non-Kyrgyz minorities.

Finally, SDPK finds its long liberal/socialist heritage as a grassroots champion for the oppressed expressed as it takes charge of the Committee on Health, Social Welfare, Labor & Migration, the Committee on the Constitution, Local Governance & Legitimacy, and the Committee on Agriculture, Water Resources, and the Environment. The addition of Committee on Defense and Security is almost certainly a nod to SDPK member Ismail Isakov, a Lt. General and former Kyrgyz Minister of Defense who defected to SDPK from the Bakiev administration in 2009.

"Structure" Shows How it Looks, Not How it Works

A complete look at the structure of the new Kyrgyz government won't emerge until the leadership (and members) of each Committee are decided, and the complete list cabinet members remains unverified as well. More so than the composition, the operations of the new government are largely unknown. How will the Committee head on International Affairs interface with Ruslan Kazakhbaev, the President's Minister of Foreign Affairs? Does Chorobek Imashev, the Minister of Finance, report to the Committee on Fiscal Policy or the Committee on the Budget?

With such confusion still apparent, the larger question - can this Kyrgyz government adequately address the enormous economic and social problem threatening the country's stability - seems too grand to even address. Still, that will be the challenge facing these eager new officials as they simultaneously try to weed out the endemic corruption of the Bakiev regime and bring the already unwieldy government bureacuracy under control.

In short, the Kyrgyz government is built like a house of cards; with the right architecture, the right components, and just a bit of luck, it may stand indefinitely. But it will continue to be very susceptible to destructive forces, the number of which unfortunately seems to keep growing in Kyrgyzstan.

Below are a full listing of Parliamentary Committees, their chairmen when known, and the elected leadership of the Jogorku Kenesh.

Prime Minister

Almazbek Atambaev, SDPK

Deputy Prime Minister

Omurbek Babanov, Respublika

Speaker of Parliament

Akhmat Khelidbekov, Ata-Jurt

Vice Speaker(s) of Parliament

Myktybek Abdyldaev, Ata-Jurt

Asylbek Jeenbekov, SDPK

Bakyt Torobaev, Respublika

Bodosh Marmyrova, Ar-Namys

Asiya Sasykbaeva, Ata-Meken

Committees

Ata-Jurt (source)

Energy & Minerals (Azamat Arapbaev)

Education, Science, Religion, & Culture (Jyldyz Joldosheva)

Judicial & Legal Issues (Sadyr Japarov)

Parliamentary Regulations & Ethics (Kurmantay Abdiyev)

SDPK

Defense & Security (tba)

Agriculture, Water Resources, & the Environment (tba)

Health, Social Welfare, Labor & Migration (tba)

Constitution, Local Governance & Legitimacy (tba)

Respublika

Fiscal Policy & Economic Development (tba)

Tourism, Sports, Youth & Gender Issues (tba)

Construction, Transportation & Communications (tba)

International Affairs (tba)

Ata-Meken (source)

Corruption, Human Rights, & Non-Profit Organizations (Turatbek Madylbekov)

Ar-Namys (source)

Budget (tba)

Equal Opportunity (tba)