The formation of a parliamentary majority coalition and establishment of a new government ended political uncertainty since the October 2010 parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan. However, due to the deteriorating economic situation, including a huge state budget deficit and rising public discontent in the country, the fate of the newly-elected government seems predetermined.

On December 17, a new coalition government was formed and approved by the parliament. The coalition includes three parties, including the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK), Ata Jurt (Fatherland) and Respublika. The parliamentary majority controls 77 seats of a total 120. Almazbek Atambaev, the leader of SDPK, was elected Prime Minister, winning the support of 92 lawmakers, whereas Respublika’s party leader Omurbek Babanov became his first deputy. The candidacy of Akhmatbek Keldibekov, one of the leaders of Ata Jurt, was widely supported by the parliamentarians as Speaker of Parliament. The Cabinet of Ministers will consist of 18 ministries and 3 state committees which were divided among the coalition parties.

Despite widespread skepticism among the public, Respublika, which was entrusted to form a parliamentary majority by Kyrgyzstan’s President Roza Otunbaeva, has been able to unite the two biggest parties in the parliament into a coalition ending the two months of political uncertainty. It is notable that the first attempt to form a government coalition, led by the Social Democrats and joined by the Respublika and Ata Meken parties, failed when the candidacy of Omurbek Tekebaev, the leader of Ata Meken, was not approved by the majority of lawmakers. Tekebaev failed to gain a simple majority of votes despite the fact that the coalition parties controlled 67 seats in the parliament. Later, Respublika representatives announced that some of their members voted against the Ata Meken leader claiming that each party member made personal decisions.

President Otunbaeva has congratulated the newly-elected government, stating that a legitimate government has been finally formed. “Kyrgyzstan enters a new stage of development”, the President stated and urged the new government to address the numerous problems the country is facing.

In the meantime, the newly-elected Prime Minister has already indicated the priority issues his cabinet will be working on in nearest future. Issues of economic development and reduction of the state budget deficit, in light of recent numerous demonstrations across the country of school teachers demanding salary increases, are at the top of the new government’s agenda. Atambaev has entrusted to the ministers of finance and education to find solutions to the problems raised by the protesters.

During his speech at the parliament, the Prime Minister shared his foreign policy plans. Terming Russia a strategic partner, Atambaev announced that his first official visit abroad will be to Moscow. Moreover, according to the head of government, the country will also maintain good neighborly relations with other Central Asian states and improve its relationship with the U.S. and EU. Atambaev said that Kyrgyzstan will adhere to all multilateral and bilateral agreements referring to the U.S. Transit Center Manas (the U.S. military airbase) in the country which, it is assumed, will stay at least for the next four years. “According to the agreement, we cannot unilaterally make changes in the document during 5 years”, he concluded. The agreement on the transit center was signed in 2009.

International organizations such as the UN, the OSCE, and the EU have jointly greeted the successful establishment of the new government. “The establishment of the new coalition government of the Kyrgyz Republic constitutes an important milestone towards the reestablishment of constitutional order and further democratic consolidation in the country”, Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said in the statement.

Despite the public’s relief with gaining a legitimate government, the coalition itself raised wide public discontent. With the approval of the cabinet of ministers, a number of protests took place in the country’s regions, demanding to get rid of “Bakiev’s allies” with reference to Ata Jurt members in the government. Ata Jurt was formed three months prior to the parliamentary elections by former high officials under Bakiev’s regime. The protesters promise to continue demonstrations until the new government members affiliated with the former President are dismissed.

Most local political experts predict a short existence of the coalition. Whereas some of them believe that a wide coalition of four parties is necessary in order to have a stable government, others see a lack of trust among the three parties as a main problem, which might lead to a breakup of the coalition. “I think that after a couple of months, when public resentment will rise due to a deteriorating socio-economic situation, disagreements will appear within the coalition and each party will accuse the others of failing to handle the situation,” Valentin Bogatyrev, a local political analyst, concluded.