Once-jailed populist Japarov sworn in as Kyrgyz president

Populist Sadyr Japarov was sworn in as president of ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan Thursday, completing a remarkable transformation from prisoner to president in the space of a few months.

Japarov, 52, was serving jail time on hostage-taking charges before he was freed during a political crisis over a parliamentary vote in October, beginning a dizzying rise to the top of the leadership.

He won a January 10 presidential election by landslide with close to 80 percent of the vote.

Japarov on Thursday swore to "preserve the integrity of the people and the security of the country" as he placed his hand on the Kyrgyz constitution, which is set to be overhauled in the coming months.

Voters chose a presidential form of government over a parliamentary model in a referendum held in parallel to the presidential vote.

A Kyrgyz cabinet official said Monday that Japarov would make his first foreign trip as president to Russia, where hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz live and work.

Moscow has taken a dim view of political upheavals in the mountainous country of 6.5 million that looks to next-door China for loans and investment.

The new constitution is likely to grant the head of state sweeping new powers when it is passed and reverse the single-term limit imposed on presidents after a bloody uprising ousted the country's second leader in 2010.

Two of Japarov's vote challengers Abdil Segizbayev and Kursan Asanov were detained by law enforcement earlier this week, raising fears that Japarov's reign will continue the cycle of revenge that has defined local politics.

Segizbayev, who was serving as national security chief at the time of Japarov's arrest in 2017 was detained over charges of abuse of office.

Asanov who proclaimed himself acting interior minister during the same unrest that propelled Japarov to power has been detained for his alleged role in seizing the ministry building.

Sooronbai Jeenbekov, who became the third Kyrgyz president to step down over unrest last year was shown attending Japarov's inauguration.

Thousands rose up after a parliamentary vote saw parties close to Jeenbekov dominate, amid allegations of massive vote-buying. The vote's results were subsequently annulled.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin last year called the overthrow of the previous government a "misfortune" and chided the country for seeking a political model based on Western democracies.

© 2021 AFP