BISHKEK -- A new Kyrgyz government has been sworn in in parliament less than a week after the previous government was dismissed.
Members of the new cabinet led by Mukhammedkalyi Abylgaziev were sworn in just hours before lawmakers approved Otkurbek Jamshitov, who was nominated by President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, as prosecutor-general.
Jeenbekov fired previous Prime Minister Sapar Isakov and his government on April 19, hours after lawmakers passed a no-confidence motion.
The no-confidence vote was initiated by opposition lawmakers and followed criticism of the government's annual report by opposition parties.
In an unexpected move, the ruling coalition, led by former President Almazbek Atambaev's Social Democratic Party, abruptly withdrew its backing for Isakov, prompting his cabinet's fall.
Jamshitov replaces Indira Joldubaeva, whom Jeenbekov fired as prosecutor-general earlier this month.
Jeenbekov has also ousted Abdil Segizbaev, the head of the State Committee for National Security.
Both Joldubaeva and Segizbaev are close allies of the former president and have been criticized for a crackdown on opposition politicians and independent journalists.
Atambaev kept a low profile for several months after leaving office five months ago, but has recently begun publicly criticizing his former protege and anointed successor.
Kyrgyzstan, a country of 6 million that hosts a Russian military base, is widely seen as the most democratic but also the most politically volatile of the five Central Asian states that gained independence in the Soviet breakup of 1991. Antigovernment protests toppled presidents in 2005 and 2010.
