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Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov claimed in an August 13 interview with journalist Ali Toktakunov that he’d planned for his former ally and security chief Kamshubek Tashiev to follow him in the presidency, but changed course once he realized “he’s not ready.”
The revelation comes in tandem with Kyrgyzstan’s prosecutor general appealing the July verdict and sentences in the “Letter of 75” case, seeking harsher punishments.
Japarov also clarified in the interview that he will, indeed, seek a second term in January in order to “complete” his reforms.
Tashiev served as the head of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) until his surprising dismissal in February. At the time, Japarov explained the dismissal of his friend and close ally as necessary to “strengthen the unity of the state and prevent divisions in society, including between government agencies.”
A month before his dismissal, Tashiev had responded to mounting rumors that he would seek the presidency. “Many have tried and continue to try to sow discord between us, claiming that I aspire to the presidency. But this is not true,” he said at the time. “I do not intend to overthrow Sadyr Nurgoyevich h [Japarov]… In this life, only death can separate us.”
Tahsiev has consistently denied any ambition to become president, even as he built up a resume of successes and consolidated power around himself. But Japarov just said he intended to retire after his first term and pass the presidency on to Tashiev.
So what happened? According to Japarov, he’d told Tashiev, “Be prepared, cleanse your circle, educate your people.” Tashiev apparently did not do so.
“Then I see: he’s not ready,” Japarov continued. “His staff isn’t behaving as expected, and people in his entourage have skyrocketed in power.” When the “Letter of 75” appeared, Japarov said, “When parliament began to be divided between the general’s supporters, I summoned him and said: ‘This is unacceptable. You can’t divide the people. I will severely punish those who divide the people into north and south, because the people have only just begun to unite. So don’t be offended, I’m removing you from your post.’”
There’s an ironic precedent for all of this: Japarov’s predecessor, Sooronbai Jeenbekov was the hand-picked successor of his predecessor, Almazbek Atambayev. Their falling out, which intensified in 2019 with Atambayev’s arrest, threw Kyrgyzstan into the political chaos that saw Japarov busted from prison and swept into the presidency in 2020. Tashiev, long an ally of Japarov’s, rose with him into power. And then it all fell apart.
Tashiev, alongside former Speaker of the Zhogorku Kenesh Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu, former Member of Parliament Kurmankul Zulushev, and five others, were found guilty last month of a coup attempt under Article 326 (“Violent seizure or retention of power, as well as an attempt to violently change the constitutional order”) and acquitted of abuse of office charges.
The prosecutors had sought nine-year sentences. Tashiev and the rest were sentenced to four years in prison, but the judge replaced their prison terms with three years of supervised probation. The five defendants who had been in custody were released. Tashiev served not a single day in detention.
On August 13, the same day Japarov’s interview was posted to YouTube, the Prosecutor General’s Office appealed the verdict. According to Tashiev’s lawyer, as reported by 24.kg, the prosecutor is requesting that the acquittal portion of the verdict be overturned and that due punishment be imposed. Additionally, the prosecutor argues that the sentences under the Article 326 charge are too lenient and should be increased.
The defendants are seeking a full acquittal.
Kyrgyzstan is set to hold presidential elections in January 2027. As early as January 2024, Japarov’s allies were floating the possibility of him seeking a second term. Then-Deputy Prime Minister Edil Baisalov – now Kyrgyzstan’s ambassador to the United States – told RFE/RL that the Kyrgyz constitution allowed for a second term and that Japarov would “not just abandon things halfway.”
One aspect of the political upheaval earlier this year in Kyrgyzstan was a rumbling in certain quarters in favor of an early presidential election. That was a core piece of the “Letter of 75.”
Kyrgyzstan’s Constitutional Court weighed in quickly, arguing that the presidential election could not be held early – and also that Japarov’s current term counts as the first of two permitted under the current constitution, approved via referendum in April 2021.
In late July, Japarov signed a bill into law that altered the election schedule, though it merely served to move the vote from January 24 to January 27 – shifting from the fourth Sunday of the month to the fourth Wednesday.
In his recent interview, Japarov said the door was open for anyone to run against him: “Anyone who wants to run for office can do so. As they say, go ahead. We won’t restrict anyone. The elections will be transparent, and there will be no obstacles for competitors.”
There may be one obstacle for Tashiev and his fellow defendants: It’s hard to run for office from prison. In fact, under 2025 legislation that Japarov signed off on, individuals with criminal records are barred from running for president entirely.
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