New Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev has taken office today. He is the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, one of the oldest and most notable parties in the republic, the party was active in driving out President Askar Akayev in March 2005 and President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in April 2010. Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev won presidential polls on November 30 with over 62% of vote, outrunning 16 other candidates, RIA Novosti reports.
Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission Tuygunaly Abdraimov handed him the verification note. The new president also received the presidential symbol and the president’s standard of Kyrgyzstan.
The president’s symbol was made from the high-countermark gold and silver. It resembles a copy of the Ak-Shumkar Order (White Falcon) on a chain with a length of 108 cm, consisting of 14 sections in form of bay tree branches.
The inauguration ceremony was held at the big hall of state philarmony in Bishkek. Turkish and Georgian Presidents Abdullah Gul and Mikheil Saakashvili, prime ministers of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan were at the ceremony. China, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Turkmenistan were represented by speakers and vice-speakers of parliaments. Russia was represented by Andrey Belyaninov, co-chair of the Kyrgyz-Russian intergovernmental commission, head of the Russian Customs Service, Grigory Karasin, state secretary of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Vinokurov, head of the Russian governmental office, Valery Zorkin, head of the Constitutional Court, and Valentine Sobolev, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council.
Secretaries of the CSTO Nikolai Bordyuzha, SCO Muratbek Imanaliyev, CSTO Lamberto Zannier, EurAsEC Tair Mansurov, Cooperation Council of Turkic States Halil Akyndzhy, CIS Executive Committee Sergey Lebedev, EU Special Representative for Central Asia Pier Morel, Special Representative of UN Secretary General Miroslaw Yench, US Assistant State Secretary Robert Blake and other officials were also present.
Atambayev said that Russia will remain the main partner of Kyrgyzstan. It expects to cooperate with Russia and Kazakhstan. Joining the Customs Union would improve Kyrgyz economy, he says.
The new president will have a military parade on the central square at the parliament building. Additional security measures were taken.
It is the first peaceful change of power in the history of independent Kyrgyzstan. Its first President Askar Akayev left the state during the revolution of 2005. The next President Kurmanbek Bakiyev had to flee the country in 2010 from protests against his corrupted ruling. Rosa Otumbayeva, Acting President and opposition member, came to power in April 2010. She fulfilled her promises and organized a peaceful switch of power.
A Kyrgyz president is elected for 6 years to only one term of office. Kyrgyzstan has become a parliamentary republic.
Atambayev is expected to leave the Cabinet in the next few days.
