The Head of the Suzak Village Government in the Jalal-Abad oblast Bekzad Abdurashidov was relieved of his duties. Kloop’s information was confirmed by the president’s plenipotentiary representation for the Jalal-Abad oblast.
The firing of Abdurashidov
The presidential plenipotentiary mission reported that Abdurashidov’s dismissal was based on complaints from local residents and deputies from the local Kenesh.
The Jalal-Abad oblast prosecutor’s office reported to Azattyk that the complainants were dissatisfied with the actions of Abdurashidov when he purchased coal for schools and during the fire in the village government’s building. They believe that he acted negligently during these events.
*On October 10, 2021, there was a fire in the Suzak village government building. Documents and furniture were burned up in the fire. At the time, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that the fire had occurred in a warehouse where coal is stored. And locals collected funds to restore the building on their own.
“The fire caused the government 7.5 million soms worth of damages. This reason also served as the basis for a recommendation to the district prosecutor’s office. The second reason was the actions and activities of the village government,” reported the prosecutor’s office.
Due to this reason, on November 16, the Suzak district prosecutor’s office offered to address the violations by having Bekzad Abdurashidov face disciplinary action.
*According to a new law about local self-government, the akims (local government heads) of the regions appoint and relieve the heads of the village governments. Earlier, that right belonged to deputies from the Aiyl keneshes.
For his part, Abdurashidov posted a video message to President Sadyr Japarov about being fired. In the video, he says that he has not wished to cooperate with corrupt officials since becoming the head of the village government, which continues to impede his ability to work effectively.
“Then, the former deputy head of the Suzak village government came to me with a request, ‘Bekzad, I have debts from 30-40 checks, I’ll pay them off and work for 1-2 months,’ but I didn’t let him—I fired him. Since the day I fired him, I’ve received a lot of calls from higher authorities in the oblast, a lot of people have met with me and demanded his reinstation. But I refused to appoint corrupt officials to any positions. Since then, I started to have setbacks in my work,” Abdurashidov said.
“Under the President’s Patronage”
Earlier, there had been a scandal connected to a candidate from the Ishenim party, Bekzad Abdurashidov’s brother, Sherzodbek Umarbekov.
On November 13, Baratbek Sydyknazarov the akim of the Suzak region filed a report with the police on the Ishenim party candidate Sherzodbek Umarbekov. In the report, Sydyknazarov accused Umarbekov of threatening him in a phone call, while acting in the name of the president.
Sydyknazarov noted that Umarbekov told him that they were “under the president’s patronage.” The akim also added that candidate Umarbekov told him that he “shouldn’t hurt a single hair” on the head of his brother, the leader of the Suzak village government.
“Last week on Friday [Sherzodbek Umarbekov] reached out to me on WhatsApp and demanded that ‘no one harm a single hair’ on the head of his brother who runs the Suzak village government. I had to go to the police because he said that they [both brothers] are under the patronage of the president,” said Sydyknazarov in a conversation with IA Turmush.
Suzak’s District Department of Internal Affairs has begun pretrial proceedings under the article, “Intimidation or Violence against a Public Official.”
The president’s press secretary Erbol Sultanbaev declared that anyone who uses the president’s name will face consequences. Sultanbaev also noted that this was of particular relevance to Jogorku Kenesh candidates.
Sherzodbek Umarbekov and the “Administrative Resource”
Sherzodbek Umarbekov is a deputy in the Suzak Aiyl Kenesh. In 2020, he took part in the parliamentary elections with the Mekenim Kyrgyzstan party.
On November 9, Julia Lilienthal, a candidate from the No. 13 Suzak electoral district, made a video message on social media accusing Sherzodbek Umarbekov of taking advantage of “administrative resources.” According to Lilienthal, Umarbekov attracted deputies from the Suzak Aiyl Kenesh and the head of the village government to his campaign.
Lilienthal noted that Umarbekov also “acted on behalf of the president.” According to Lilienthal, Abdurashid Umarbekov, the father of Sherzodbek and Bekzad, was a representative for Sadyr Japarov during the presidential elections in January.
“A candidate from the Ishenim party Sherzod Umarbekov is going around the mosques in Suzak and telling people that President Japarov himself had granted him entry into the party. And Sadyr Japarov had said that he wanted to see Sherzod Umarbekov as a candidate from the Suzak electoral district. We hope to find out from the president just how true this is,” said Lilienthal.
Suzak’s District Department of Internal Affairs has begun pretrial proceedings under the article “Abuse of Administrative Resource.” During the investigation, it was confirmed that deputies from the Suzak Aiyl Kenesh, authorities from the level of the village government, and a judge from the Court of Elders (Aksakal Courts) took part in a campaign event for Umarbekov on November 3.
During interrogations, deputies from the Aiyl Kenesh confirmed that they had taken part in the event. But the participation of employees from and the head of the village government was not confirmed. For this reason, the case was dropped.
2021 Parliamentary Elections
Elections for deputies to the Jogorku Kenesh is slated for November 28, and they will take place using a mixed electoral system. The new convocation of the Jogorku Kenesh will consist of 90 deputies.
Of these 90, 54 parliament members will be elected using a proportional system in a single electoral district, and 36 deputies will be elected using a majority system in single-mandate electoral districts.
Translated by Taylor Wilson from Respond Crisis Translation