Rights
A 2021 constitution that swung back to presidential rule
After the 2020 unrest, a referendum in 2021 adopted a new constitution replacing the parliamentary system of 2010 with a strong presidency and a traditional Kurultai advisory assembly.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Unitary state with seven regions and two cities. The Constitutional Court was re-established as a standalone body in 2021.
Governing law
- Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic2021
- Constitutional Law on the Constitutional Court2021
In practice
The 2021 text concentrated executive power, allowed the president two five-year terms, cut parliament from 120 to 90 seats and gave the president authority over judicial appointments and referendums. It also introduced a controversial provision permitting restriction of activities contradicting moral values and public consciousness, criticised as an open-ended limit on expression. The Constitutional Court accepts individual complaints, and Kyrgyzstan remains party to the ICCPR with its individual-complaint protocol, so treaty-body findings continue to be a live avenue.