Kyrgyzstan enters 2026 with the uneasy calm that follows a storm. The parliamentary elections of November 2025 passed almost unnoticed: streets that once boiled with protest are now empty of opposition rallies, and media outlets – pressured by new laws – prefer cautious, sanitized headlines. This quiet marks the culmination of five years since Sadyr Japarov’s inauguration in January 2021 and the April referendum that year on the so-called “Khanstitution” – a constitution that promised stability but, according to critics, returned the country to Central Asia’s authoritarian traditions.
Japarov rose to power on a wave of popular anger. The parliamentary elections of October 2020, marred by widespread allegations of vote-buying and fraud, triggered unrest that toppled then-President Sooronbay Jeenbekov. Freed from prison by a crowd, Japarov – a nationalist previously convicted over the kidnapping of a regional official during protests against foreign mining interests – quickly seized the prime minister’s post and went on to win the presidency. The referendum on the new constitution, dubbed the “Khanstitution” for its heavy presidential bias, was held amid low turnout and allegations of violations, transferring power from parliament into the hands of a single individual: Japarov.
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Aigerim Turgunbaeva is a Research Fellow at the Turan Research Center.