City councils to elect Bishkek, Osh mayors
BISHKEK/OSH. Dec 13 (Interfax) - Laws defining the status of the capital city, Bishkek, and the southern administrative center, Osh, have been signed in Kyrgyzstan. Mayor vacancies in both cities appeared simultaneously.
Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev signed the laws, a source from the presidential press service told Interfax on Friday.
The laws not only determine the status of both cities and principles of their governance but also open up the possibility to elect the Bishkek and Osh mayors, Kyrgyz parliament deputies told Interfax earlier. The laws under which former mayors of Bishkek and Osh, Isa Omurkulov and Melis Myrzakmatov, were elected are no longer in force. Both mayors were removed from office in early December.
The laws on the status of Bishkek and Osh, which have been signed by the president, stipulate the election of the mayors by city councils and say that candidates can be nominated by party factions in city councils and the prime minister. Previously, president was entitled to nominate mayoral candidates.
A source from the Kyrgyz Central Elections Commission told Interfax that the mayoral elections in Osh and Bishkek were likely to take place in late January - early February 2014.
The Bishkek City Council has 45 deputies representing the pro-governmental Social Democratic Party and Ata Meken, the opposition Respublika and Zamandash, which tends to be an ally of pro-governmental parties. The Social Democratic Party, Ata-Meken and Zamandash formed a majority coalition and declared their intention to nominate a mayoral candidate. The opposition party Respublika plans to nominate its candidate, as well.
There are 45 deputies in the Osh City Council. The majority coalition of the opposition party Uluttar Birimdigi, which is led by former Osh Mayor Myrzakmatov, and Zamandash holds 23 seats. Another coalition uniting the pro-governmental Social Democratic Party and Ata Meken and the opposition parties Respublika and Adilettuu Kyrgyzstan has 22 seats on the council.
In the opinion of Kyrgyz experts, the rivalry will be the tightest in Osh, where ex-Mayor Myrzakmatov, who was removed from office last week, was very popular and headed the city administration for more than four years. He has already declared his mayoral ambitions.
Experts said the victory of Myrzakmatov would have been guaranteed if the Osh elections were a month or two earlier because he would have gained support of the majority coalition, in which Uluttar Birimdigi has 21 out of 23 members.
However, the deputy mandate of Shailoobek Atazov, one of the closest associates of the ex-mayor, may now be revoked. A one-year suspended sentence was passed on the deputy, which compelled him to withdraw from the council. Another Uluttar Birimdigi deputy, Amanullo Iminov, may become a suspect in a criminal case. This weakens the position of the majority coalition in the Osh City Council.
Speaking of Bishkek, the Kyrgyz experts suggested that a mayoral candidate might become the president's successor in the election 2017 or take the position of the prime minister at some point.
