Kyrgyzstan’s new leadership has hastily written a new draft constitution and set January 10, 2021, the day already named for the presidential election, to also be the day people vote on a referendum on this new constitution.
It has been dubbed the "khan-stitution" by many people in Kyrgyzstan as the new version gives the president seemingly unlimited powers while also curtailing some basic rights, including freedom of speech.
Many questions are being raised about the legality of this document and there is growing public discontent over it.
On this week's Majlis podcast, RFE/RL's Media-Relations Manager Muhammad Tahir moderates a discussion on what the draft constitution contains.
This week’s guests are: from Kyrgyzstan, Saniia Toktagazieva, a constitutional law expert based in Bishkek; also in Bishkek, Nuriana Kartanbaeva, the deputy director of the Soros Foundation in Kyrgyzstan; and from Prague, Bruce Pannier, the author of the Qishloq Ovozi blog.
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Majlis Podcast: The Controversy Over Kyrgyzstan’s Draft Constitution
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