At stake in this Referendum:

• The referendum will exchange some powers between the president and parliament.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Askar AKAYEV
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Nikolay TANAYEV
• Assembly: Kyrgyzstan has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Legislative Assembly with 45 seats and the Assembly of People's Representatives with 60 seats**.

** After the February 27th elections, the parliament will become a unicameral body with 75 seats.

Main provisions in the Referendum:

• Constitutional amendments, include the following:
  • Some of the executive powers would be allocated to the Supreme Council and local officials, and specific duties would be assigned for each member, in effect: The President's power vis a vis all branches of government and society at large would be greatly increased, and the power and independence of Parliament would be greatly reduced.
  • Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Council would be changed from a bicameral to a unicameral assembly; reducing the number of deputies down from 105 to 75.
  • The activities of the Legislature would be further regulated and limited.
  • The Arbitration courts within Kyrgyzstan's judicial system would be merged with the Supreme Court, where power would be concentrated.
  • The Constitutional court would have a reduced role but gain the power of assessing the constitutionality of activities of political parties, social and religious organizations.
• Extention of Term and Immunity for President AKAYEV
  • A provision asking if AKAYEV should stay in office to the end of his term, slated for December 2005, in order to implement the new constitutional amendments. It will also propose providing absolute and permanent immunity for the President and his family.

Population and registered voters:

• Population: 5,043,300 (2003)
• Registered Voters: 2,537,247 (2000)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,550,121 (2003)

·         Is Kyrgyzstan a signatory to CEDAW: N/A

·         Has Kyrgyzstan ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (10 February 1997)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 1 (following the 2000 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 120 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Kyrgyzstan a signatory to CRPD: Yes (21 September 2011)

·         Has Kyrgyzstan ratified CRPD: No

·         Population with a disability: 756,495 (est.)