In a decisive vote on September 25, the Jogorku Kenesh, Kyrgyzstan's parliament, rejected former President Askar Akayev's appeal to reinstate his ex-president status. The parliamentary press service reported that 71 out of 85 deputies voted against the request, with two initial dissenting votes later retracted due to error.
Speaker Nurlanbek Shakiev commended the deputies' decision, highlighting the country's tumultuous post-independence period under Akayev's leadership. Shakiev specifically mentioned the Aksy events of March 17, 2002, when protesters opposing land transfers to China were fatally shot.
«As a deputy elected from the Aksy district, I can say that my constituents were anxiously awaiting our decision. History will judge its correctness, but I believe we made the right choice,» Shakiev stated, as reported by 24.kg.
Akayev's plea to regain his ex-president status, revoked by a temporary government decree in 2010, reached the parliament in early September. Current President Sadyr Japarov suggested that Akayev's request was motivated by a desire to secure his place in history.
«Askar Akayev is 80 years old. I don't think he's interested in the pension or security detail. He moves freely without protection even now,» Japarov commented, acknowledging both the negatives and positives of Akayev's tenure during Kyrgyzstan's early independence.
Akayev led Kyrgyzstan from independence until 2005, when he fled to Russia following a revolution. He later faced charges of power abuse related to the Kumtor gold mine project. In 2021, Akayev returned to Kyrgyzstan to cooperate with investigators, publicly apologizing for his decisions regarding Kumtor. The criminal case against him was dropped in 2023 due to the statute of limitations.
This parliamentary decision marks a significant moment in Kyrgyzstan's ongoing process of reconciling with its post-Soviet political history.
