BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyzstan’s President-elect Sooronbai Jeenbekov was inaugurated on November 24 in the country’s capital, Bishkek.
Jeenbekov replaced President Almazbek Atambayev, who was constitutionally barred from seeking a second term, in a first peaceful transfer of power in Kyrgyzstan and the Central Asia region.
Jeenbekov was Atambayev’s prime minister from April 2016 to August 2017.
After taking the oath during the inauguration ceremony, President Jeenbekov promised to award Atambayev by his first presidential decree.
“The past honest [presidential] elections are your merit. You deserve the high title of the Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic and Ak-Shumkar badge of merit. By my first decree I intend to award you, Almazbek Sharshenovich,” Jeenbekov said as reported by 24.kg news agency.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony Jeenbekov said that priority direction in the policy of the new president of Kyrgyzstan will be the fight against corruption.
The new president promised to fight corruption and ensure the transparency of the work of the judicial system.
“We must significantly improve the infrastructure of the courts and introduce a digital justice system, then there will be transparency and responsibility of the judges,” Jeenbekov said.
The new president emphasized the continuation of the strategic partnership with Russia.
“We will develop cooperation with the countries of the European Union, Japan, Korea, India, Mongolia, China, Turkey, and the United States,” he added.
According to official results, Jeenbekov won the October 15 election with 54 percent of the vote after a campaign in which critics said the outgoing president used the courts, law enforcement, and other levers of power to put his former prime minister in power, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported.
International observers have praised the vote as competitive and transparent, but said that “numerous and significant problems were noted” during the count and that “misuse of public resources, pressure on voters, and vote buying remain a concern.”
