The Kyrgyz parliament approved a decision to dissolve the legislature and hold early elections on November 30, Reuters reports. The country's presidential election is scheduled for January 2027, News.bg reports.
The lawmakers indicated that the early vote is necessary to avoid the financial and organizational burden if the two types of elections are held close to each other. Kyrgyzstan is a relatively poor country whose economy relies heavily on remittances from migrants working in Russia.
The parliament is currently dominated by parties supporting President Sadyr Japarov, who came to power in 2020 after mass protests against alleged election fraud.
Kyrgyzstan was long considered the most democratic of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia, with a relatively free media. Since coming to power, however, Japarov has taken steps to tighten control, bringing the government closer to the more authoritarian models of its neighbors. Independent media outlets have been closed, journalists have been arrested, and authorities have imposed strict controls on the internet.
On the international stage, Kyrgyzstan, a predominantly Muslim country, provides diplomatic support to Russia, which maintains military bases on its territory. However, since the war in Ukraine began, this stance has caused tension with the West. The US and the UK have imposed sanctions on some Kyrgyz banks accused of facilitating the circumvention of Russian sanctions.