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. …

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 Monday signed the new, power-boosting constitution which was approved by lawmakers on December 30. The new constitution gives Bakiyev the power to appoint a new prime minister (although with approval from parliament), and the government.

Previously on November 8, the parliament adopted a constitution which enforced and charged the parliament with appointing the prime minister and the government.

This was followed by the resignation of the entire Cabinet on December 19 when Prime Minister Kulov stated the decision “was made in line with the new edition of the constitution in order to avoid a power crisis in the country.” He further said that the new government should be formed based on party majority in the parliament. However, since no party holds majority seats in parliament, the parliament cannot form the new government.

Bakiyev then demanded amendments to the new Constitution by threatening to dissolve the parliament and call for early elections. Lawmakers got scared and passed the constitution.

Bakiyev managed to minimize the damage caused by the opposition protests last November. He clearly demonstrated that he currently has some political control in the country.

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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Further to our quick review of the past year:

Events of 2006 by Human Rights Watch

Having come to power after the March 2005 “tulip revolution” on the promise of reform and a commitment to democracy, openness, and respect for fundamental human rights, the government of President Kurmanbek Bakiev largely failed to promote these principles. In the year-and-a-half since the ouster of former President Askar Akaev and his administration, citizens have grown disillusioned with the revolution and lost confidence in the new government and its promises. Under growing pressure from the opposition, parliament, and thousands of protesters, President Bakiev signed a new constitution on November 9, 2006, giving greater power to parliament.

Certain Aspects of Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Policy in 2006 by IPP

Regrettably, the year 2006 has not become a year of stabilization of the internal political situation in Kyrgyzstan. “Stable instability,” heightened political tension was noted as before, the struggle for power continued with the help of various techniques and methods, including “street democracy” and “matryoshka gate”, which became internationally known. At the end of the year, in November-December, political tension reached its zenith, having led to unjustifiably swift change of the Constitution, which in the end due to multiple legal conflicts in the new wording of the country’s Basic Law and lack of mutual good will among both conflicting sides, led to the resignation of the Cabinet and questioned further existence of the current membership of parliament. These developments on the eve of the New Year again put the country before another political crisis, and the forecasted exacerbation of the situation, which will possibly be accompanied by new parliamentary elections and forming of a new Cabinet, now will obviously leap over into the year 2007.

Kyrgyzstan’s politicians pick up in 2007 where they left off last year by EurasiaNet

More political strife could be in store for Kyrgyzstan in 2007. President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s supporters in parliament have succeeded in undoing key aspects of last November’s constitutional compromise, which significantly reduced the chief executive’s prerogatives. Bakiyev’s opponents are crying foul, and are pondering a new political-pressure campaign against the president.