President backs new Kyrgyz PM to calm crisis
BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan’s president on Wednesday gave his blessing to populist Sadyr Japarov as prime minister, with the Central Asian state seeking a path out of 10 days of crisis following an annulled election.
Sooronbay Jeenbekov, facing the gravest challenge of his three years in office after violence that erupted after in the wake of disputed elections, had initially sent the appointment of Japarov back to parliament.
But signs were growing that politicians were taking steps to end the impasse in the ex-soviet country on China’s western border, which has been dogged by political volatility for much of its three decades of independence.
Japarov, who was freed from jail by supporters amid chaotic scenes last week, had made several unsuccessful attempts to secure the post since unrest over the parliamentary election.
But on Wednesday, more than 80 lawmakers from the 120-member legislature attended an extraordinary session and parliament voted to confirm Japarov and his proposed cabinet.
Jeenbekov then signed a decree confirming the naming of Japarov as premier as well as his cabinet, the presidency said in a statement.
Kyrgyzstan, a landlocked republic of 6.5 million people, has had two presidents overthrown by street protests since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The unrest has worried its ally Russia, coming as post-election protests rock ex-soviet neighbour Belarus and clashes persist over the breakaway Nagorno-karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s deputy chief of staff Dmitry Kozak flew in for talks with Jeenbekov and Japarov this week in a move that appeared to strengthen the position of the pro-moscow president.