FEB. 12 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – The main opposition party in Kazakhstan, Azat, said it would boycott an April 3 presidential election. Azat, which means freedom in Kazakh, said President Nursultan Nazarbayev had breached the Constitution by calling the snap election and that there was also not enough time to prepare for the vote.
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(News report from Issue No. 27, published on Feb. 14 2011)
FEB. 4 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev named April 3 as the date for a snap presidential election. He called the vote after ditching plans for a referendum that would have kept him in power until 2020. The election had been scheduled for 2012.
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(News report from Issue No. 26, published on Feb. 7 2011)
JAN. 14 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to insert a clause in the Constitution to allow a referendum on whether President Nursultan Nazarbaeyev should remain in power until 2020 without facing another election. The organisers of a petition supporting a referendum say they have collected 5m signatures.
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(News report from Issue No. 23, published on Jan. 17 2011)
OCT. 15 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s parliament gave its final approval to constitutional changes which shift power away from the president to the PM. The changes will come into affect when President Mikheil Saakashvili leaves office in 2013 after his second and final term. Opponents have called the changes undemocratic.
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(News report from Issue No. 12, published on Oct. 21 2010)
OCT. 7 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — After a revolution in April, Kyrgyzstan voted in a referendum on June 27 for a new Constitution that aims to shift the balance of power from the president to Parliament. Below are the main points from the constitution that should shape Kyrgyzstan’s government following a parliamentary election on Oct. 10, 2010:
– Parliament was enlarged to 120 seats from 90 seats. Each parliament is elected for five years under proportional representation. No party can hold more than 65 seats.
– A coalition has to form a government within 15 days of an election or the president can intervene.
– Political parties are banned from being formed on ethnic or religious grounds. The election code already stated women have to make up at least 30% of parties’ candidate lists.
– Members of the military, police and judiciary are not allowed to join a political party.
– The PM has control over the budget and fiscal policy.
– The president appoints key posts such as the Prosecutor-General, the head of the Central Bank, the head of the Supreme Court and the heads of the defence and security agencies but Parliament has varying degrees of oversight.
– The president signs legislation. He or she has the right to send proposed laws back to parliament but does not have a veto.
– The president is limited to a single 6 year term.
– The Supreme Court and not the Constitutional Court will interpret the Constitution.
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(News report from Issue No. 10, published on Oct. 7 2010)
OCT. 1 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kyrgyzstan is tense but stable ahead of an election on Oct. 10 intended to create Central Asia’s first parliamentary democracy, the OSCE said. Analysts said it was unlikely that any party would win a majority in the vote which an estimated 3,300 candidates from 29 different parties are contesting.
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(News report from Issue No. 10, published on Oct. 7 2010)
SEPT. 24 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s parliament voted in favour of changing the Constitution to create a powerful PM. Opponents of the changes say they are designed to bolster Mikheil Saakashvili who has to step down as president in 2013. The proposed changes need to pass two more readings to come into force.
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(News report from Issue No. 9, published on Sept. 30 2010)
SEPT. 30 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili will be 46-years-old when he reaches the end of his second and final four-year term in 2013.
He is energetic and ambitious, so what will he do?
Vladimir Putin faced a similar dilemma in 2008 when the Russian Constitution forced him to step down as president. Putin moved to become an empowered prime minister.
Now, Mr Saakashvili’s opponents say he plans a similar move. They say changes to the Constitution which easily passed a first reading in the 150-seat Parliament on Sept. 24 are designed with him in mind.
The proposed changes, which still need to pass two more readings to become law, will cede domestic and foreign policy from the president to a powerful prime minister.
Under the draft law, the transfer of power would occur in 2013 after the next Georgian presidential election.
Mr Saakashvili denies the changes have been tailored for him to retain power. He says they are needed to speed Georgia’s development.
Despite losing popularity after a war against Russia in 2008, Mr Saakashvili retains a tight grip on power. A close ally won an election to become mayor of Tbilisi in August and his Untied National Movement party currently dominates the Georgian parliament.
The next parliamentary election is scheduled for 2012.
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(News report from Issue No. 9, published on Sept. 30 2010)
SEPT. 16 2010 (The Conway Bulletin) — Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s President since independence in 1991, may stay in power until 2020, one of his advisers said. Under constitutional changes in 2007, the 70-year-old Mr Nazarbayev can run for as many presidential terms as he wants. The next presidential election is in 2012.
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(News report from Issue No. 7, published on Sept. 16 2010)