Kyrgyzstan transformed from a part of a federal state (the USSR) into a sovereign, unitary, democratic republic. There was an evolutionary shift from Soviet totalitarian statehood towards democracy with a presidential form of governance. The political leadership of the country proclaimed the establishment of a secular rule-of-law state as a direction for development, enshrined in the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic.
As the state developed, it combined elements of both a presidential and a parliamentary republic. The combination of the structures of the two directions changed in one way or another as social relations evolved.
PERIODIZATION OF FORMATION
It is possible to identify three main stages in the formation of state governance in the Kyrgyz Republic.
FIRST STAGE (late 1980s — early 1990s)
This stage was one of anticipation for change, inspired by the romance of perestroika, and real steps to dismantle the Soviet administrative-command system and establish an anti-Soviet ideology on the wave of national-democratic mass movements. Whether we like it or not, all three stages of the formation of state governance are closely linked to the evolution of the institution of the presidency.
The relative bloodlessness of events during acute social upheavals can be explained by active financial and political support from Western countries and international organizations, but one cannot overlook the role of the first president of the Kyrgyz Republic. He gave an academic and liberal sheen to Kyrgyzstan's international image as an "island of democracy," attracted various forms of active external support, and instilled hopes in the population for prosperity and a better future for the country.
Thus, the 1995 elections expressed people's hopes for the possibility of implementing large-scale reforms. The majority of the country's parliament in the 1990s consisted of representatives of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan (CPK), whose ideas carried a semantic load of the Soviet type, representing demands for renewal and change in the public sphere. The course towards the creation of a presidential republic was explained by the necessity of consolidating power. The logical conclusion of this stage of contradictions was the dissolution of parliament in October 1994 and early elections in February 1995 on a democratic basis.
Instead of the dissolved unicameral parliament, a bicameral parliament was introduced, consisting of a 35-seat upper house and a 70-seat lower house. The electoral system was also changed, introducing a majoritarian electoral system. This step practically excluded the CPK (which had been restored only in 1993) from active political struggle and deprived it of a key role on the political arena of the republic. This was a significant victory for the president in the political struggle for power.
The concluding stage of this period in the history of Kyrgyzstan was the presidential elections of December 1995, in which Akayev won. Notably, these were the first nationwide alternative elections in the history of independent Kyrgyzstan (candidates: A. Akayev, A. Masaliev, and M. Sherimkulov). The elections on December 24, 1995, showed a fairly high voter turnout: 81.1% of voters came to the polling stations. President Akayev won the elections, receiving 71.6% of the votes. The CPK candidate A. Masaliev received 24.4% of the votes, while the third candidate Sherimkulov received 1.7% of the votes.
In February 1996, a new referendum took place, which granted significantly more powers to the President and, accordingly, reduced the influence of parliament. Thus, Kyrgyzstan smoothly transitioned from a semi-presidential republic to a presidential one. This marked the beginning of a new stage in the formation of the institution of the presidency in the Kyrgyz Republic.
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