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Monday, October 19, 2020, 16:52
TASS: Kyrgyzstan's interim leader says he may run for presidency
By Reuters
Monday, October 19, 2020, 16:52 By Reuters

Kyrgyzstan's recently-appointed Prime Minister Sadyr Zhaparov addresses the Kyrgyz Parliament at Ala-Archa state residence in Bishkek on October 16, 2020. (VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / AFP)

Kyrgyzstan’s new acting president Sadyr Zhaparov, who came to power last week in a popular uprising, may run for a full term if the country amends its constitution to allow it, Russia’s TASS news agency quoted him as saying on Monday.

The Central Asian nation’s constitution bars caretaker presidents from running in the elections they oversee. Zhaparov took over as acting president last week after unrest toppled his predecessor Sooronbai Jeenbekov’s government.

The Central Asian nation’s constitution bars caretaker presidents from running in the elections they oversee

As prime minister and acting head of state, Zhaparov must now oversee a rerun of an Oct 4 parliamentary election which was annulled after prompting violent protests, and a presidential election due to be held by mid-January.

ALSO READ: Kyrgyzstan to hold presidential election before Jan 10

A nationalist opposition figure who had been serving a sentence for attempting to kidnap a political opponent, he was freed from prison by his followers during the protests and named prime minister last week. The uprising was the third popular revolt to topple a president in Kyrgyzstan since 2005.

The former Soviet republic, which is closely allied with Russia and borders China, has yet to set the dates of either vote. Amending the constitution to allow Zhaparov to run might require holding a referendum before the presidential election.

Zhaparov last week named his closest ally Kamchybek Tashiyev head of state security in the country of 6.5 million that hosts a Russian military air base, and published a long-term program hinting he planned to become more than a temporary leader.

READ MORE: Kyrgyzstan president Jeenbekov resigns after unrest


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