Kyrgyz Constitution

IWPR goes over the new constituion for Kyrgyzstan proposed by President Kurmanbek Bakiev, which will probably soon be the law of the land. Unsurprisingly, the document creates a very strong presidency, and in some ways reminds me of the system by which Husni Mubarak has maintained power in Egypt. A key is the centralization of opposition forces into national political parties, achieved in this instance by institution a party list system similar to that in Iraq and Israel. This will make it much easier for Bakiev to co-opt parties individually, as well as neutralizing deputies by freezing the parties to which they belong. I suspect one target of such manipulation will be ensuring no non-Presidential party is able to gain a majority of the seats. That, in turn, will leave it up to the President to nominate the prime minister and government.