After Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev smoothly got rid of Felix Kulov, his tandem partner, a new prime minister has emerged. Azim Isabekov, who up until now has been minister of agriculture in Kulov’s cabinet, was nominated by Bakiyev to succed Kulov. His name has been mentioned in the Kyrgyz media ever since the Kulov government resigned in December 2006, but very few people believed he would be the person.

However, looking at Isabekov’s bio, it is clear that he is a very close person to Bakiyev and the nomination was not suprising to many in the government. Isabekov, a notherner, has on several occasions worked directly under Bakiev.

Azim Isabekov was born in 1960 in Arashan, Chui Oblast. From 1997 to 2000 he worked as Chief of Staff in Governor’s Office when Bakiyev was the Governor of Chui in the same years. In 2001-2002 he was the head of administrative department in prime minister’s office when Bakiyev was the prime minister. Bakiyev and Isabekov lost their jobs 2002 after the Aksy event. In 2005-2006 Isabekov was deputy chief of staff in Bakiyev’s administration. In 2006 he was appointed as the minister of agriculture.

Kyrgyz lawmakers turned down acting Prime Minister Felix Kulov’s nomination to head the government for the second consecutive time giving President Kurmanbek Bakiyev an opportunity to name a person who will be less charismatic than Kulov and will boost Bakiyev’s control over the government.

Parliament speaker Marat Sultanov told Bakiyev that it was doubtful that Kulov would be approved if he was nominated for the third time. Bakiyev aides all supported Sultanov and said that a new person should be named to head the government.

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#1 story in Kyrgyzstan is still the nomination of Felix Kulov to prime minister.  Kyrgyz media are full of speculations of what might and might not happen if Felix Kulov is not approved by the Parliament.  However, not many see that Kulov was the one who caused the current situation.  He explained his resignation of December 19 as a way to “expedite parliamentary elections” and forcing the parliament to resign.  Pro-Bakiyev forces in the government and the parliament saw this as a painless way for Bakiyev to get rid of Kulov.

Bakiyev’s allies in the Parliament, such as speaker Marat Sultanov and head of constitutional committee Iskhak Masaliyev, have already said president should nominate a new person for the third and last vote.  Otherwise, the parliament should be dissolved.  Bakiyev will not have a direct responsibility in the vote.

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In its short history as an independent country since 1991, Kyrgyzstan has had at least 12 different Cabinets and every process of choosing a premier was mysterious and behind closed doors.

This time as well, acting Prime Minister Felix Kulov’s candidacy has been turned down by the Parliament, although the deciding factor during the vote is the support from President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The fact that Bakiyev personally did not go to the Parliament to present Kulov’s candidacy was a signal for pro-Bakiyev lawmakers to vote against him. In fact, it was Alymbay Sultanov, who in 1999 ran against Kulov for parliament and won with the help of Akayev’s regime, presented Kulov’s nomination in the parliament. …

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev nominated acting Prime Minister Felix Kulov to head the government after he failed to secure lawmakers’ support Thursday.

With Bakiyev’s insistence that Kulov be the prime minister, parliament is likely to finally approve the nomination or it might be dissolved if it rejects Kulov for the post two more times.

Even if Kulov is approved, he’s clearly not going to have friendly relations with the lawmakers who have lately given him hard time on his government’s performance and his political record.

Kyrgyz lawmakers rejected acting Prime Minister Felix Kulov’s nomination to head the new Cabinet Friday reflecting lack of political support for him.

Kulov needed 15 more votes to be approved to become the prime minister of the new government.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev didn’t come to the parliamentary session to present Kulov’s nomination. Many lawmakers believe Bakiyev’s presence would have made the difference in the outcome. Some say he didn’t want to put his personal (presidential) prestige for Kulov as it was unclear whether the vote would be positive. …

If one happens to visit a village in any part of Kyrgyzstan, a stark picture of solitude will appear despite constructions of new buildings and number of foreign cars on the streets. Older people says it is like during the World War II, when strong men and women went off to front lines leaving the villages to the elderly and the small children. Just about every family has one or two people working either in Russia or Kazakhstan. Many more are in the capital city of Bishkek seeking better living away from dilapidated rural Kyrgyzstan.

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Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev nominated acting Prime Minister Felix Kulov to head the new Cabinet.

Kulov’s nomination Wednesday was recommended for approval by a parliament committee headed by lawmaker Iskhak Masaliyev, a moderate Bakiyev supporter. It remains to be seen whether Kulov will hold on to the position he has held since 2005 as part of arrangements with Bakiyev to win him the presidential vote. …

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev pledged Friday that Kyrgyzstan will strength its relations with neighboring states, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and will also make its membership in Russia and China-led security and economy groupings a foreign policy priority.

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(EurasiaNet) Base Shooting Sours US-Kyrgyz Relations
The December 6 killing of a Kyrgyz citizen at the American airbase outside Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, is the most serious of several recent events that have shaken relations between the United States and its key military ally in Central Asia. In response to the shooting, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has asked that US troops be held accountable to Kyrgyz law. Local analysts, however, say that it is unlikely that the position reflects a desire to reconsider Kyrgyzstan’s alliance with Washington. …