Kyrgyzstan Votes in Snap Parliamentary Election With no Opposition

President Sadyr Japarov aims to shore up power, with his allies set to win the polls amid clampdown on media and opposition.

Polls are under way in Kyrgyzstan’s snap parliamentary election, in which allies of President Sadyr Japarov are expected to win a resounding victory, The Caspian Post informs, vida Al jazeera.

Sunday’s vote takes place with no formal parties or organised opposition, and it is set to cement Japarov’s power.

A populist and nationalist, Japarov has since 2020 established firm control of Kyrgyzstan, which was traditionally Central Asia’s most democratic country.

Victory for his allies would set the stage for a presidential election due in 2027, when Japarov is expected to seek another term.

After Kyrgyzstan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the lively political life in the mountainous country of about 7 million was significant. In 2005, 2010 and 2020, Kyrgyz leaders were overthrown in street protests against elections that critics said were rigged, while Kyrgyz media was for decades the region’s freest.

But since coming to power on the back of the 2020 protests, Japarov has clamped down on the media and opposition groups.

An election had been due by November 2026, but parliament voted in September to dissolve itself for a snap election.