Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov warned on November 12 that politicians were discussing ways to provoke violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan to disrupt the presidential election. In his Facebook post, he did not identify those allegedly involved or provide evidence for the claim.
Two days earlier, Japarov filed an application to seek a second term with Kyrgyzstan’s Central Commission on Elections and Referenda. The election is scheduled for January 27, 2027.
The warning comes amid growing restrictions on the opposition and independent media under Japarov, who has consolidated presidential power since taking office in 2021. Ahead of the November 2025 parliamentary elections, security forces arrested ten people, including the leader of the opposition Social Democrats party, in connection with an alleged plot to overthrow the government. Human Rights Watch has also documented prosecutions of journalists on charges that included calling for mass unrest. Against that background, Japarov’s accusations risk casting political opponents as threats to national security.
Japarov asked citizens to report provocative statements or actions to local authorities. They could also contact the State Committee for National Security or the Ministry of Internal Affairs through their local offices. He said security forces could stop any unrest within a day or two and pointed to tens of thousands of surveillance cameras nationwide as evidence of the authorities’ ability to detect illegal activity.
False rumors could provoke violence even where there was no open dispute between the communities, Japarov warned. He urged residents to resist provocation and asked elders to tell younger generations about the clashes of 1990 and 2010, in which hundreds of people died.
In June 2010, violence began in Osh and spread to other parts of southern Kyrgyzstan within days. Human Rights Watch found that false reports of attacks heightened tensions and helped draw people from surrounding villages into the city.
At least 426 people died in the Osh and Jalal-Abad regions, according to official figures the group cited in its 2011 report Distorted Justice. Most of those killed were ethnic Uzbeks. The report found strong indications that some members of the security forces had facilitated attacks on Uzbek neighborhoods. Its researchers documented arbitrary detentions and torture during the investigations that followed. They also found that the authorities had violated defendants’ right to a fair trial.
Japarov suggested that opponents of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway might try to stoke ethnic tensions after failing to turn the public against cooperation with China. He described the railway as vital to Kyrgyzstan’s economic future.
Construction of the railway began in December 2024. The planned route from Kashgar in China to Andijan in Uzbekistan enters Kyrgyzstan at the Torugart Pass. It then runs through Makmal and the city of Manas, formerly Jalal-Abad. Uzbek officials expect the line to shorten shipping times from China to Europe and lower transportation costs.
According to the election commission’s preliminary figures, 11 people had applied when nominations closed on November 13. Each must collect at least 30,000 voter signatures by December 8 to qualify for registration. The commission has until December 23 to register candidates.
