On October 15th, Kyrgyzstan's President Zenbekov resigned voluntarily, prompting Prime Minister Zaparov to lead state affairs. This resulted from the protests, which came after allegations of irregularities during the October 4th general elections. Political corruption is cited as the cause of complaints. Then, what are the causes of the corruption of Kyrgyzstan?

Regionalism between the South and the North appears to be a significant cause of Kyrgyzstan's corruption. Atambayev, the fourth president of Kyrgyzstan, was from the North, followed by Zenbekov, the fifth president from the South. Zenbekov was elected in the presidential election with the support of Atambayev. Still, as the mutual respect has disapeared, this led to a dramatic confrontation over the arrest of Atambayev. As Russian political analyst Alexander Knazeph said, “The nation's entire elite has always been divided,” citing the conflict between North and the South. The Kyrgyzstan Parliamentary Act stipulates a blockade of proportional representation to prevent the monopoly of specific political forces. The percentage of seats in certain political parties was maintained at 9% but adjusted to 7 % ahead of this year's general elections. According to a local media survey in Kyrgyzstan, only four of the 16 parties won the minimum 7 % or more of the votes needed to enter parliament in the process of selecting 120 seats in the general elections. Knazeph explained that three of the four parties that passed the 7% threshold for entering Kyrgyzstan's parliament were representatives of the South. The other party, "Boutun Kyrgyzstan," which represents the northern region, won 13 seats, exceeding the lower 7% limit for parliamentary advancement. 11 of the 16 parties in the general election declared they could not recognize the election results' outcome.

The second cause of political corruption is privatization. Specifically, the first president of Kyrgyzstan, Ascar Akayev, implemented radical economic changes, including massive privatization. According to the investigation, during the Akayev regime, the privatization process was managed by a close aide to the president. An anonymous professor of Central Asian Studie from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies said, "Through a series of measures, Akayev eventually succeeded in building an exclusive guardian system. Whether his ultimate political orientation was democracy or authoritarian, or has changed from democracy to authoritarianism, it may be difficult to make an accurate judgment. But it seems hard to raise differences over the fact that his consistent purpose was to establish an exclusive guardian system."

According to a study titled “From Monopoly to Competition: Constitutions and Rent Seeking in Kyrgyzstan” from the Swedish Institute for International Studies, cooperation between the presidential administration and businesses is also cited as a cause of corruption. Also, among the state-owned enterprises that were not privatized, the gold mine company was considered a hotbed of sin. It was run by the president's family and aides. Also, large-scale state-owned enterprises or national economic and financial organizations placed their families and aides in key local posts by introducing a system for appointing governors who did not require approval from the parliament or by controlling their family members aides. More than 40 companies and foundations in the energy, metal, media, telecommunications, transportation, and liquor sectors were involved in tax evasion or suspected of corruption. The Akayev family was in control. It turned out that Idar Akayev, who is doing a large business in energy, telecommunications, railways, and especially in oil, gas, and hydro, was the eldest son of Akayev, the first president. His son-in-law Adil Toigonbayev was found to have taken control of companies such as Kant Cement Plant, Kira Valletta Sugar Refinery, and Kirghiz Alcohol. Clearly, Akayev sold strategic state-owned enterprises to relatives and aides in the name of privatization. Opposition parties protested the government's tyranny and corruption, but Akayev countered by arresting members of the major opposition parties.  Like this, political ties are rampant in addition to the nationalization of business in Kyrgyzstan.

 An anonymous professor of Central Asian Studies from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies said "It seems to be of great significance that Kyrgyzstan’s president resigned amid the public's discontent. An incident caused by corruption was bound to happen one day. Still, such a significant incident occurring means that the people have been deeply dissatisfied. In the future, we should try to create a clean nation so that such things will not be repeated.”

By Yoo Chan-Ju, Reporter

ychanjoo@pusan.ac.kr