Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov applied to run for a second term in the Jan. 27, 2027, election, and Reuters reported that analysts see no serious challenger among other prospective candidates.
The election commission said Tuesday that it had received Japarov’s application and six applications overall as of Nov. 10. Reuters reported that five other prospective candidates had announced plans to enter the race.
Reuters traced Japarov’s rise to the unrest that followed Kyrgyzstan’s disputed parliamentary election in October 2020. It reported that his government has restricted opposition parties and independent media during a period of economic growth.
Three Kyrgyz presidents have been removed from office after protests since independence in 1991, Reuters reported. Askar Akayev, Kyrgyzstan’s founding president, was ousted in a 2005 uprising at the end of his third term. No president since Akayev has completed a second term, the agency said.
Reuters reported that money sent home by Kyrgyz workers in Russia has long supported the country’s economy. It said Kyrgyzstan has increasingly handled trade with Russia redirected by Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine. The agency also noted the country’s customs union with Russia and the Russian military bases it hosts.
The nomination period closes Nov. 13, ahead of the Jan. 27, 2027, vote.
