Kyrgyzstan: MPs have no right to change the Constitution
In Kyrgyzstan, the activists announced the collection of signatures for a petition against amendments to the country’s Constitution.
The authors of the petition demand that the law on the holding of a constitutional referendum be called back, that presidential and parliamentary elections be held in a timely manner, and also call on the authorities to act in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution and laws of the republic.
They claim numerous violations accompanying the amendment of the country’s main law.
“The Parliament working period expired on October 28, 2020 (in accordance with Articles 70 and 71 of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic). So, it cannot approve emergency measures (according to the opinion of the Venice Commission, in its urgent opinion Amirus Curiae dated November 17, 2020). That is, the MPs have neither the legal nor the legitimate right to amend the Constitution,” the petition notes.
It is also noted that so far none of the political leaders has taken responsibility for the proposed amendments to the country’s main law.
“The proposed draft Constitution turned out to be a “foundling”. To this day, none of the lawyers and the Parliament’s members have taken responsibility on its initiative. Such a step should be considered as an attempt to usurp power by a group of individuals through pressure on civil servants to hold a constitutional referendum,” the initiators of the protest action add.
In conclusion, they note that the draft Constitution has not been submitted for public discussion, which is a gross violation of Article 114 of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic (Part 3 of Article 12 of the Constitutional Law “On the referendum of the Kyrgyz Republic”; Part 3 of Article 66 of Jogorku Kenesh Rules of Procedure). Until now, the public is not aware of which articles of the Constitution are proposed to be changed.
