A constitutional referendum was held in

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

on 11 April 2021. The new constitution was approved by 85% of voters.

Background

Following the 2020 parliamentary elections,

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

started in October 2020 that led to the resignation of President

Sooronbay Jeenbekov Sooronbay Sharip uulu Jeenbekov (; ky, Сооронбай Шарип уулу Жээнбеков, translit=Sooronbay Şarip uulu Jeenbekov; born 16 November 1958) is a Kyrgyz politician who served as the 5th President of Kyrgyzstan from 2017 unti ...

. In January 2021 a referendum on the form of government was held alongside

presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...

(won by

Sadyr Japarov Sadyr Nurgojoyevich Japarov (sometimes Zhaparov) (; ky, Садыр Нургожо уулу Жапаров, translit=Sadyr Nurghozho uulu Zhaparov; born 6 December 1968) is a Kyrgyz politician who has served as the president of Kyrgyzstan sinc ...

), with voters asked whether they would prefer a presidential system, a

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...

, or opposed both. Just over 84% voted in favour of a presidential system. Work began on drafting a new constitution, which was debated in the Supreme Council in February 2021. The draft new constitution replaces a parliamentary system with a presidential one, with presidents limited to two five years terms instead of a single six-year term. It also reduces the number of seats in the Supreme Council from 120 to 90 and establishes a constitutional court. The changes were described as moving "toward a form of presidentialism that is close to the authoritarian-style 'crown-presidentialism' in the post-Soviet Eurasian space." In March 2021 members of the Supreme Council passed a bill, scheduling a referendum on the new constitution for 11 April, the same day as

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

.Kyrgyzstan to hold constitution referendum on April 11
Interfax, 11 March 2021

Results

Aftermath

The new constitution was adopted on 11 April 2021. President Japarov signed it on 5 May 2021..

References

{{Kyrgyz elections 2021 in Kyrgyzstan

Referendums in Kyrgyzstan April 2021 events in Asia