Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov will run for a second term in 2027. He announced the decision in an interview with journalist Ali Toktakunov.
«I have already said that I will go for a second term,» Zhaparov said.
His press secretary, Askat Alagozov, first signaled the president's intention to seek re-election in January 2024. At the time, the vote was expected in 2026, but it was later postponed to January 2027.
In the same interview, Zhaparov revealed that he had originally planned to hand the presidency to Kamchybek Tashiev and step aside.
«Since we are speaking frankly, I will tell you the whole truth. I had my own plan: to serve six years and not run in 2027. If Kamchy had been ready by then — working well and gaining experience — I wanted him to run. I would not have taken part myself. I would have made Kamchy president and gone off to rest. That was my plan,» AKIpress quoted Zhaparov as saying.
The president said he had informed Tashiev of that decision back in 2024.
«I told him: 'Be ready, clean up and groom your inner circle.' But then I saw that he was not ready. His staff had already begun to fear him. His entire entourage seemed to have risen to the heavens. Over the 'letter of 75' case, they started splitting parliament into two camps: 'You are on the general's side, and you are not.' So I summoned him and said: 'This cannot go on. You cannot divide the people. That is why I am removing you from your post. Do not take offense. If you want to run in the next election, I will create the conditions for you to do so,'» Zhaparov recalled.
In July 2026, Tashiev declined to run for the presidency in 2027.
«He told me then: 'I will not take part. I will not run against you. If you had simply said you were removing me from my post, that would have been enough.' Later he publicly declared: 'I will support him. I will speak in his support together with my team.' I saw that,» Zhaparov noted.
Zhaparov assumed the presidency of Kyrgyzstan in January 2021, winning 79.2% of the vote. The next presidential election is scheduled for January 27, 2027. Under the country's Constitution, a president may be elected to two five-year terms.
Kamchybek Tashiev was a close ally of Zhaparov, and their tandem was popularly known as «eki dos» — «two friends.» On February 10, 2026, Zhaparov dismissed Tashiev from his posts as deputy prime minister and head of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) — a day after a public appeal to the president and the speaker of parliament calling for early presidential elections. The letter carried 75 signatures. Zhaparov explained the dismissal as an effort «not to allow a split in society, including within state structures, but on the contrary — to strengthen unity.» A criminal case was later opened against Tashiev in what became known as the «case of 75»; in early July this year, he was sentenced to four years in prison with confiscation of property, found guilty under Article 326 («Forcible seizure of power») of Kyrgyzstan's Criminal Code.
