Kyrgyzstan held snap elections for the Jogorku Kenesh (parliament) on 30 November, with preliminary results showing allies of President Sadyr Japarov securing nearly all 90 electoral seats. As a result of a new electoral law passed in June which disadvantaged political parties due to an increase in the registration fee, most candidates were self-nominated individuals, making determining the precise balance of the incoming parliament difficult. The law also mandated that one of every three MPs in each of the 30 electoral districts be a woman, resulting in an increase to 30 from 18 women in the previous sitting. Voter turnout was 36.9 per cent, slightly up from 34.94 per cent in the 2021 elections. Turnout in both elections was well below the country’s historical average. Observers from the OSCE found the election to be efficiently run within a restrictive environment that fell short of international standards.

Sources: Reuters, Eurasianet, OSCE, Kaktus, International IDEA

Kyrgyzstan’s security services launched a crackdown on opposition politicians in the run-up to the 2025 snap parliamentary elections held on 30 November. Ten leading members of the opposition Social Democrats were arrested on 22 November on charges of planning to violently overthrow the government, and other high-profile political figures and their family members were also questioned for hours without legal counsel. The ten individuals, including Kadyrbek Atambayev, the son of former president Almazbek Atambayev, were sentenced to preventive detention and will remain in custody for the foreseeable future. While pre-election harassment of opposition is not unheard of in Kyrgyzstan, the scale of the arrests, the seriousness of the charges, and the dearth of evidence raise concerns of further shrinking of political space.

Sources: Times of Central Asia, Reuters 

A draft law approving Kyrgyzstan’s revocation of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was introduced to the Jogorku Kenesh (parliament) in November, beginning the legal process for the country to reintroduce the death penalty. The return of the death penalty has been broadly debated in Kyrgyzstan as a possible response to a rise in high-profile cases of rape and murder of women and children. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called on Kyrgyzstan in October 2025 to stop all efforts to reintroduce capital punishment, and he and other legal experts say any attempt to do so would breach international law. President Sadyr Japarov has made statements indicating he is in favour of the process. Should Kyrgyzstan withdraw from the Protocol, it would first have to amend its constitution, which also bans capital punishment, in order to reintroduce it. 

Sources: 24.kg, Verfassungblog, OHCHR

Two cameramen for investigative journalism outlet Kloop were sentenced to five years in prison for ‘inciting mass unrest’ for allegedly producing five videos critical of the government. The trial marked a degradation of judicial processes in Kyrgyzstan, as no evidence was presented to show that the cameramen participated in the production of the videos, nor how the videos themselves contributed to ‘inciting mass unrest’. The videos were also not published by Kloop, but by the YouTube-based media outlet, Temirov Live, whose head said he did not know the cameramen. The prosecution’s case rested on the cameramen’s confessions, but both (Alexander Alexandrov and Zhoomart Duulatov) said they confessed under duress and in exchange for a promise to be sentenced to house arrest or conditional release. Both recanted their confessions when the prosecution instead pursued prison sentences. Human rights and press freedom advocates condemned the sentences as aimed at silencing independent journalists and further undermining press freedom in the country.

Update: The sentences of Alexander Alexandrov and Zhoomart Duulatov were commuted to probation, and they were released from custody on 25 November. Both men reportedly changed their pleas once more to guilty in exchange for their release. 

Sources: Kloop, The Diplomat, Human Rights Watch, Kloop (Telegram), OCCRP

Kyrgyzstan enacted a new media law on 7 August that requires all traditional and online media outlets to register with the Cabinet of Ministers in order to operate. Journalists and human rights experts say the bill will allow the government to effectively control what media outlets publish, as the law does not allow for oversight or judicial review of the decisions to grant or revoke registration. A version of the media law was first introduced in 2022 but was withdrawn after public backlash. The presidential administration then sought the advice of the Venice Commission, convened a working group with journalists and media lawyers, and revised the law several times with the stated goal of finding a ‘compromise’ in line with international legal standards. However, the final version introduced to parliament in June removed nearly all these changes, suggesting the engagement with civil society was not in earnest.

Sources: Fergana, The Diplomat, European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission)

A new law remade Kyrgyzstan’s electoral system before next year’s parliamentary elections. The existing parallel voting system will be replaced with a single non-transferable vote system based on 30 constituencies with three representatives each. At least one of every three representatives from each constituency must be a woman, meaning the country will reach its 30 per cent gender quota for the first time. The law also disadvantages smaller political parties, as the non-refundable candidate registration fee has been raised to KGS 9 million (about USD 103,000) for party-affiliated candidates, but will remain KGS 100,000(about USD 1,115) for independent candidates. Japarov has frequently backed loyal businessmen as independent candidates. International observers have also criticized the process of drawing electoral districts, which was done without the participation of or consideration for the country’s ethnic minorities and will likely further marginalize them from political processes.

Sources: Times of Central Asia, Office of the President, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe