Giant size poster of current Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, taken in Bishkek days before the January 10th referendum and presidential election. The slogan in Kyrgyz and Russian says “Serving the future!”. Photo by Filip Noubel, used with permission In January 2021, the citizens of Kyrgyzstan voted through a referendum to change its political system, opting for a presidential form of governance that stands to boost the power of its newly elected president, Sadyr Japarov. While some argue this move could bring stability to the deeply divided society, others point out that it could also mark the beginning of a shift away from the openness that earned the country its reputation as the freest society in Central Asia 2020 was a particularly eventful year for Kyrgyzstan: in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the country experienced unrest that resulted in its third revolution and the fall of the Soorinbai Jeenbekov government in October 2020. A new interim government, led by Sadyr Japarov, was rapidly installed, before a regular presidential election on January 10, 2021 confirmed Japarov as president-elect. On January 10 Kyrgyz voters were also asked to choose via referendum whether they wanted a presidential or a parliamentary form of governance, or neither of the above. Voter participation was low, at around 30 percent, for both the referendum and the presidential vote, of which 1,133,485 voters—or 81.3 percent—voted in favor of the presidential form of governance. Another referendum to decide on specific details of this reform is scheduled for the spring of 2021. Since 1993—the year Kyrgyzstan adopted its first constitution as a sovereign country following its departure from the Soviet Union in 1991—Kyrgyzstan's Basic Law has been changed through nine referenda. Each time, the debate has centered on the balance of power between the president, who is elected directly, and the Jogorku Kenesh, the Kyrgyz parliament. In almost all versions of the constitution up to the 2010 edition, the president has held more power than the parliament, controlling the courts, the prosecutor's office, the security agencies, the army, and the heads of state administrations, as well as having the final say in matters of foreign and domestic policy. The powers of the Jogorku Kenesh have always included the adoption of laws, as well as approving the president’s appointment of judges, the Prosecutor General, and the chairman of the National Bank. In the entire history of Kyrgyzstan, there has never been a case of the parliament not approving appointments made by the president. The main reason for this is that political forces backed by the president have always managed to impose their decisions within the parliament. In 2010, following the second revolution and ethnic clashes in the south of the country that led to the departure of the strongman president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, a constitutional reform sought to rebalance power between the president and the parliament, in the hope of avoiding more of the violence that marked the country that year. Under the post-2010 system, the parliament approves and controls decisions made by the government: the president appoints judges, the Prosecutor General, and the head of the National Bank only with the approval of the parliament. Meanwhile, the president still controls appointments to the security agencies, the anti-corruption service, the army, and the heads of state administrations. One of the first things then-interim Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov did in October 2020 was to propose yet another constitutional reform. The changes he proposed included reducing the number of deputies from 120 to 90, switching from a proportional to a majority system, and strengthening the role of the president. Those amendments were enshrined on November 17, 2020, when the Jogorku Kenesh submitted a new draft of the constitution that significantly expanded presidential powers: the president would be able to single-handedly appoint the government, judges, and the Prosecutor General, and would adopt acts that have the force of law. In contrast, the reduced parliament would have only a legislative function. Finally, a new 750-member body called the Kurultai, or Assembly of the People, would be established as an “instrument of dialogue between the people and the government.” The Kurultai, whose exact role remains to be defined, would meet once a year and is a project largely driven by Saparov himself.