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Thus, the Constitutional Court made an official clarification of certain norms of the Fundamental Law at the request of the president. The clarification discusses Articles 67, part 2 of Article 68, and part 1 of Article 72, their interrelation with the 2010 Constitution and the Law "On the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic," adopted in the referendum on April 11, 2021.
In its decision, the court noted that the mandate obtained as a result of elections represents the expression of the will of the people, as the bearer of sovereignty, and is already a completed legal fact. Changing its conditions, including the term, after its commencement is impossible.
The Constitutional Court also indicated that reducing the mandate retroactively would contradict the principle of legal certainty and the legitimacy of elections. The new Constitution cannot affect previously established relations formed under the previous rules.
The court referred to part 1 of Article 3 of the Law "On the Constitution of the KR," according to which the president elected for a six-year term in 2021 continues to exercise his powers under the new Constitution, and this term is considered the first in the context of the limitation on "no more than two terms."
It is important to note that recognizing the six-year term as the first does not mean its reduction or recalculation. This only affects the new rule regarding the number of terms and does not change the end date of the current mandate.
Therefore, the current president will complete his six-year term in full, while the provisions regarding the five-year term will apply to future elections.
The Constitutional Court noted that the reasons for early elections are exhaustive and listed in part 1 of Article 72 of the 2021 Constitution: these are resignation by application, removal from office in the established manner, as well as inability to perform duties due to health reasons or in the event of death.
Discussions about the terms of office cannot serve as grounds for the early termination of the mandate.
In the absence of the specified grounds, the procedure for the regular electoral cycle applies.
Thus, the next presidential elections are scheduled for January 24, 2027, on the fourth Sunday of January.
The Jogorku Kenesh is obliged to appoint the elections no later than four months before the voting day, that is, by September 24, 2026.
