Talant Mamytov (acting) Respublika Sadyr Japarov Mekenchil CIS Member State Snap presidential elections were held in Kyrgyzstan on 10 January 2021,[1][2] alongside a constitutional referendum.
These elections will invoke Kyrgyzstan's 3rd 'formal' change of government (5th when considering the effects of two 'informal' altercations – a 'constitutional coup' in 2017, and the "large demonstration gone wrong" [4] of the 5th of October 2020) in recent years.
[5] Amid national "revolutionary fervor", Japarov was acquitted of an 11.5-year sentence for kidnapping a local official and became Kyrgyzstan's acting president with plans for new constitutional and presidential elections.
Such turbulence is palpable when considering Schmitter and Karl's definition of modern political democracy as a "system of governance in which rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens, acting indirectly through the competition and cooperation of their elected representatives.
On the final electoral ballot were listed 17 candidates including: Sadyr Japarov – aforementioned interim President following the resignation of former-President Sooronbai Jeenbekov – former head of the State National Security Committee (Государственный Комитет Национальной Безопасности) Abdil Segizbayev, journalist Kanybek Imanaliev, ex-deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (МВД) Kursan Asanov, and entrepreneur Arstanbek Abdyldaev.
According to a 2021 report by the OSCE (the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), the verification of signatures by the Central Committee on Elections (Центральная Избирательная Комиссия Киргизской Республики) was "transparent and consistent.
[citation needed] Sadyr Japarov received the 2nd highest percentage of votes in the entire history of Kyrgyz presidential elections – falling just short of Kurmanbek Bakiev's 89.5% in 2005.
"[citation needed] It is critical that this election was "dominated by one candidate who benefitted from disproportionately large financial means and misuse of administrative resources, resulting in an uneven playing field".