KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT RESIGNS; PLOY TO FORCE NEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L BISHKEK 001784 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/19/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL KG SUBJECT: KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT RESIGNS; PLOY TO FORCE NEW PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS? REF: A. BISHKEK 1744 ¶B. BISHKEK 1710 Classified By: DCM Lee Litzenberger, Reason 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) At an emergency cabinet meeting on December 19, all 14 members of the Kyrgyz government offered to resign. Prime Minister Felix Kulov said he also would submit a letter of resignation to the president. The reason given was that the resignations would create conditions to put the new constitution into effect. Kulov later told the press that the government's resignation would hasten new parliamentary elections. As of 18:00 local time, President Bakiyev has not yet accepted the resignations. ¶2. (U) Under the new constitution adopted in November, the majority party in parliament elected by party list forms the government. The current parliament, however, was elected from single-member constituencies, and there is no majority party. The new constitution is not clear about how the government is formed during this transitional period prior to new parliamentary elections, but the constitution does provide that the president can dissolve parliament if it fails to form a government. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: The sudden orchestrated resignation of the government is an attempt by the President and the Prime Minister to force new parliamentary elections. Deputy Chief of Staff Sadyrkulov told the press that the decision to resign had been thought through and was aimed at "stabilizing the situation." Bakiyev and Kulov see early elections as being in their favor politically, as Kyrgyz political parties are not well-developed and no single party is dominant (Ref A). The most likely scenario for new parliamentary elections is that Bakiyev would be able field the strongest party, giving him control over the parliament and the government. While the timing of the resignations came as a surprise, the move was not completely unexpected; PM Kulov outlined such a scenario for the Ambassador in late November (Ref B). YOVANOVITCH