On Sunday 27 June, Juche 99, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan will hold a referendum over a new Constitution. These are the first elections since the government of Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown in April. The new constitution limits the powers of the president and increases the powers of parliament. In this election, I will be endorsing the no vote. I am endorsing the no vote because in a nation like Kyrgyzstan I believe that it is better to have a strong presidency supported by a weaker parliament. In a nation where there is little to no history or use of democracy, I believe that it is futile to enforce democracy upon the people of a nation who have no experience of it. In fact Kyrgyzstan barely has a history of conducting elections. Since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan held a few elections under the presidency of Askar Akayev; however these fell below democratic standards. In 2005, the people of Kyrgyzstan overthrew Askar Akayev in what became known as the Velvet Revolution. The Revolution brought Kurmanbek Bakiyev to power, which was over thrown this past April.
I am opposing the new constitution as I do not know the details of the new laws and/or rights the Kyrgyz people would be effected by. I also do not know if I support the new government led by, Roza Otunbayeva. Otunbayeva was a member of the Communist Party of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic and participated in the People’s Assembly in the Soviet Socialist Republic.
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