Democratization of Kyrgyzstan through Reformation of the Electoral System

Hausarbeit (Hauptseminar) , 2006 , 10 Seiten , Note: A

Politik - Region: Russland

Given the fact that none of the international declarations, conventions or covenants establishes a type of electoral or party systems, which is more democratic than others, it is a sole prerogative of a sovereign state to decide, which system to follow - majoritarian, proportional representation, mixed, or any other – while starting or continuing the process of democratization. The problem is that incumbent politicians can manipulate the electoral system in such a way as to ensure victory during next elections to preserve their power. Kyrgyzstan is precisely such a case. Although, during 14 years of country’s independence the electoral system has undergone major transformations three times, the current electoral system can hardly be named democratic. Furthermore, after the Kyrgyz opposition took over power on 24th March, 2005, one of the first requirements of the civil society was revision of the constitution, including reformation of the electoral system.
Having come across The New International IDEA Handbook on Electoral System Design, it became increasingly interesting for me to make an attempt to design the electoral system for Kyrgyzstan to make it more democratic. Apart from using the handbook on Electoral System Design, the methods of research include analysis of reports of international organizations such as OSCE and ICG related to the topic.
Hypothesis of the author is the following. In order to ‘democratize’ Kyrgyzstan, i.e. to make the decision-making process more inclusive, to ensure that majority of voices is heard, and to secure that regional, clan and minorities’ interests are taken into account, it is necessary, inter alia, to introduce Parallel electoral system, i.e. half of the seats in the parliament is to be elected by FPTP run-off in single-member constituencies while the other half of the seats is to be elected by PR closed party lists.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Introduction
• Evolving of the Kyrgyz Electoral System since 1991
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the current electoral system in Kyrgyzstan and propose a more democratic system that would ensure greater inclusivity and representation of various groups in society. The paper aims to design an electoral system that addresses the specific challenges and complexities of the Kyrgyz context, including its clan-based society, ethnic diversity, and history of electoral manipulation.

• The evolution of the Kyrgyz electoral system since independence
• The shortcomings of the current electoral system
• The advantages and disadvantages of a parallel electoral system
• The importance of ensuring regional, ethnic, and gender representation
• The need to address vote-buying and promote party development

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel

The introduction discusses the importance of electoral system design in the process of democratization and highlights the challenges faced by Kyrgyzstan in this regard. The paper argues that the current electoral system in Kyrgyzstan is not democratic and that a reform is necessary to ensure greater inclusivity and representation.

The second chapter provides a historical overview of the Kyrgyz electoral system since independence in 1991, highlighting the various changes and reforms that have taken place. It analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the previous systems and sets the stage for the proposed reform.

The third chapter focuses on the proposed parallel electoral system, outlining its advantages and disadvantages in the Kyrgyz context. It discusses how this system can address the challenges of vote-buying, promote party development, and ensure greater representation of various groups in society.

Schlüsselwörter

The keywords and focus themes of the text include electoral system reform, democratization, Kyrgyzstan, parallel electoral system, proportional representation, first-past-the-post, vote-buying, party development, regional representation, ethnic representation, gender representation, clan society, and civil society.

• Hochschule: OSCE Academy
• Veranstaltung: Electoral Systems and Political Parties
• Note: A
• Autor: Irina Wolf (Autor:in)
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2006
• Seiten: 10
• Katalognummer: V130071
• ISBN (eBook): 9783640371389
• ISBN (Buch): 9783640371228
• Sprache: Englisch
• Schlagworte: Democratization, Kyrgyzstan, Reformation, Electoral, System