Kyrgyzstan president's party quits parliamentary coalition

Should the war of words within the coalition remain unresolved, it could destabilise the volatile nation.

Almazbek Atambayev, leader of the Social Democratic party, was chosen as president during the November 2011 election. The party went on to form a coalition with the Ata Meken, the Kyrgyzstan and Onuguu-Progress parties. [File photo, 2011]
TRT World and Agencies

Almazbek Atambayev, leader of the Social Democratic party, was chosen as president during the November 2011 election. The party went on to form a coalition with the Ata Meken, the Kyrgyzstan and Onuguu-Progress parties. [File photo, 2011]

Kyrgyzstan's government has been thrown into chaos as the Social Democratic party walked out of the ruling majority coalition on Monday.

Should the disagreement between the Social Democratic party, led by President Almazbek Atambayev, and the Ata Meken party remain unresolved, it could destabilise the volatile Central Asian nation of 6 million.

The nation already experienced the toppling of two successive Kyrgyz presidents in 2005 and 2010, respectively.

Parliament deputy Azamat Arapbayev said the move will trigger the creation of a new coalition and may lead to the resignation of the cabinet.

The rift in the coalition comes about after months of disagreements and the refusal of the Ata Meken party, led by Omurbek Tekebayev, to back proposed constitutional reforms.

The proposed changes include the strengthening of the powers of the prime minister, a role which Atambayev could, in theory, take on after stepping down as president next year, although he said in August that he had no such plan.

Ata Meken party leader Tekebayev has become one of the most outspoken critics of the proposal, arguing that the change would give the prime minister too much power.

The bill needs to be passed in the final, third reading to become law.

The ruling coalition held 80 out of 120 seats in the parliament and consisted of four parties. The Social Democrats were the biggest faction in the coalition holding 37 seats, while the other 43 seats were divided between the Ata Meken, Kyrgyzstan and Onuguu-Progress parties.

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