Kyrgyz Parliament Speaker to Step Down After Security Chief’s Dismissal

Bishkek: Kyrgyzstan’s parliament speaker announced Thursday that he would step down, just two days after President Sadyr Japarov dismissed the country’s powerful secret service chief and authorities arrested political figures who had called for early elections.

In a surprise move earlier this week, Japarov sacked his long-time ally and head of the security services, Kamchybek Tashiev. Officials in Bishkek said the decision was aimed at “preventing division in society.”

Parliament Speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu — considered close to Tashiev — told lawmakers he would resign but denied that he was acting under pressure.

“Reforms initiated by the president must be carried out. Political stability is indispensable,” he said during a parliamentary session.

Kyrgyzstan has in recent years been effectively governed by the Japarov-Tashiev tandem, which rose to power following the 2020 revolution — the third political upheaval since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Japarov, who is seeking re-election next year, has faced criticism from rights groups accusing him of authoritarian tendencies as he consolidates power and presents himself as a guarantor of stability in the politically volatile Central Asian nation.

The president on Tuesday also dismissed three deputies of the security chief and moved to weaken the authority of the secret services. His spokesperson said the reshuffle was taken “in the interests of the state, with the aim of preventing divisions within society, including between government structures, and to strengthen unity.”

Tashiev, who was reportedly in Germany for medical treatment when the announcement was made, described his dismissal as a “total surprise.”

Several non-governmental organizations have in recent months voiced concern over what they describe as a deterioration in freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan, once regarded as one of the more open political systems in the region.