Additional information on the results of the ATR can be found in the material from 24.kg.
Lack of Clear Rules: Issues Arising from the Consolidation of Districts
From January 2024 to June 2025, a group of experts supported by the foundation will conduct a study aimed at identifying both the positive and negative aspects of the reform.
“The main task is to analyze achievements and identify systemic shortcomings for further advancement of the reforms,” noted former member of the Jogorku Kenesh Aaly Karashev.
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Territorial reform
The consolidation of districts in the republic was carried out based on the principles of territorial adjacency and economic feasibility, with the aim of creating self-sufficient units and reducing subsidies.
However, the report states that there are no officially approved criteria for the consolidation process. This has caused confusion among the population. Iskandarbek Mamatov, head of the regional development policy department at the Ministry of Economy, who attended the presentation, assured that criteria do indeed exist. Their number is about five or six, but they have only been approved by the government, not officially adopted.
“The law on local self-governance grants local communities the right to make decisions on consolidation and submit proposals to the local kenesh. After its approval, the documents are sent to the district administration for verification and further approval by the presidential representative,” Mamatov explained.
Nevertheless, Aaly Karashev noted that the criteria approved by the government for the consolidation of rural districts are extremely important.
“In some cases, personal interests turned out to be more significant than state ones. For example, some compact districts were ignored, while others, located up to 60 kilometers apart, were consolidated,” he added.
The lack of clear criteria for consolidation was also acknowledged by a representative of the Ministry of Economy. In this regard, a new version of the law on administrative-territorial structure is currently being developed, which will outline justified criteria and mechanisms for their implementation.
Old Problems in New Borders
Some results of the ATR can be characterized as the presence of old problems in new borders, such as the status of the айыл bashchi (village elder).
They were granted the status of municipal employees, which endowed them with powers. However, strict requirements such as age, education, and work experience, as well as the need to pass competitions, led to a shortage of personnel.
According to a survey, 56 percent of respondents noted high turnover in local self-governance bodies, while 43.2 percent pointed to low quality of personnel.
A series of studies within the framework of the dialogue program “Administrative Reforms in Central Asia,” Hanns Seidel Foundation.
As a result, the status of the айыл bashchi was abolished, and they are now accepted on a contractual basis. However, this did not solve the problem — tension increased between the head of the айыл okmotu and the айыл bashchi. The former could easily dismiss an “undesirable” by citing the end of the contract, while the village elders spoke of their responsibilities only within the terms of the contract.
Karashev proposed to restore the status of municipal employee for the айыл bashchi to enhance their protection in labor rights and also to lower qualification requirements.
Another problem raised at the presentation was the shortage of IT specialists in the айыл okmotu bodies responsible for digitalization. In 2019, the issue of raising their salaries to 70,000 soms was discussed, but this issue remains unresolved, and the salaries of specialists do not exceed 30,000 soms.
Issues with Pastures and Taxation
The management of pastures continues to be one of the acute problems. The process of transferring powers to the айыл okmotu is not yet complete. Formally, powers have been transferred, but in practice, the situation remains unchanged.
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“Pastures and irrigation water were not included in the list of local significance issues and were considered a state function. Then they were delegated to public associations. Now these functions need to be returned to the municipal enterprises of the айыл okmotu along with financing. This has not been done so far,” noted local self-governance expert Bolotbek Asanakunov.
A serious problem in the management of pastures, as experts say, is the tariffs. For many years, the pasture committees set low tariffs for the use of pastures, which led to a lack of funds for their proper maintenance. As a result, pastures deteriorate year by year.
According to Bolotbek Asanakunov, tariffs remain low: on average about 24.5 soms per hectare, and in some districts even 12 soms.
Aaly Karashev believes that it is necessary to develop a program for the restoration of pastures; otherwise, in ten years, the country may lose them. However, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture claim that such a program already exists, and they continue to work on this issue.
42 percent of respondents reported that pasture management has not changed, while 20 percent noted a deterioration in the situation. At the same time, 31.6 percent of respondents noticed some improvements.
A series of studies within the framework of the dialogue program “Administrative Reforms in Central Asia,” Hanns Seidel Foundation.
Additionally, the issue of land tax remains relevant, which concerns not only the local level.
“In 1999, it was decided to determine the land tax based on the quality of the land. For irrigated land, the tax is higher, for rain-fed land — lower. The issue was delegated to local keneshes, which were supposed to gradually raise the tariff. However, in order not to worsen their positions before voters, they did not change the tax for many years,” added Aaly Karashev.
Results of the Two-Year Reform: Staff Reductions and New Powers
The first significant result is consolidation. Some experts believe that this will help solve the problem of personnel shortages in the local self-governance system. According to Karashev, before the reform, the average staff shortage was about 1,000 people, and now there are 300 vacancies. However, this occurred against the backdrop of a significant reduction in the number of municipal employees — from 9,045 to 4,417 people.
Moreover, the list of local significance functions has increased. New functions such as military registration, heating supply, and issues of interethnic relations have been added to the existing 24.
Previously, municipal enterprises existed only in cities and large districts; now they have been created in every айыл okmotu.
“Municipal enterprises have been established for waste disposal, pasture management, irrigation, and provision of drinking water. Their funding comes from the local budget and own collections,” emphasizes Aaly Karashev.
Now the heads of the айыл okmotu are appointed by the district akim, rather than elected by the local kenesh.
“We have gone through all stages: appointment by the head of the district with the consent of the local representative body, direct elections by the population, and election by the local kenesh. Now we see the fourth stage,” noted the expert.
Despite the fact that the district state administration has gained significant influence over local self-governance affairs, local communities can still independently resolve many issues.
“People continue to elect their representatives to the local kenesh, through which they can raise their problems at kenesh sessions. All powers of local representative bodies remain unchanged, except for the right to elect the head of the local executive body. They approve the budget and control its execution,” adds Karashev.
Additionally, the district akim does not have the right to appoint “a person from the street” to the position of head of the айыл okmotu. By law, this must be a person from the municipal reserve, which includes candidates who meet the qualification requirements.
Risks for Small Villages: Who Will Represent the Interests of Compact Communities
According to Aaly Karashev, after the reform, there is a risk that small villages will be left without their deputy in the local kenesh.
“According to the law, if the population of a rural district does not exceed 10,000 people, there should be 11 deputies in the kenesh. If from 10 to 20 thousand — 21 deputies, and so on. One rural district can include several villages. As a rule, villagers most often choose their candidate. In this case, a candidate from a small village, with no more than 50-60 houses, may not make it to the representative body, and people will be left without their deputy, which will lead to a lack of a representative capable of raising their issues,” he explained.
Thus, the administrative-territorial reform continues, albeit not as quickly as desired, and sometimes with errors. Two years have passed since its launch, but no radical changes are yet observed.
