Kyrgyz Presidential Elections No Later than 29 Oct, paper

Elections of the new president of Kyrgyzstan are due to be held no later
than on 29th October 2000, the speaker of the Assembly of People's
Representatives [non-standing chamber] of the Kyrgyz parliament, Altay
Borubayev, has said in an interview to journalists. According to him, in
line with the constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, the elections of the new
head of state will be held two months before the end of the term of office
of the incumbent president [Askar Akayev]. Askar Akayev took the oath on
30th December 1995. Here is where December has come from [in talk about
when the elections would take place].

According to Borubayev, the Assembly of People's Representatives will set
the exact date and at the same time the start of the election campaign at
its summer session, which is due to gather no later than on 20th June. The
speaker himself rejected the possibility of putting forward his own
candidacy for the supreme post in Kyrgyzstan. The speaker of the
Legislative Assembly [standing chamber of the parliament], Abdygany
Erkebayev, also said the same.

In addition, both speakers said that the idea of moving the Assembly of
People's Representatives and a number of ministries and government
departments to Osh [a town in southern Kyrgyzstan, often called the second
capital of Kyrgyzstan] was "inexpedient". This idea crossed the minds of
some deputies of the parliament. According to them, in this way, Osh could
be given the status of a "southern capital of the republic" and the
development of this region could be stimulated.

According to the speakers, this measure is too expensive, although it is
really necessary to develop the infrastructure, telecommunications and the
small and medium-sized business in the republic's south, but only not by
moving various ministries and government departments there. According to
Borubayev and Erkebayev, yes, it is pointless to divide the executive and
legislative powers into parts between regions. Since Bishkek is the capital
of Kyrgyzstan, both the government and the parliament must be there in the
full composition. [quotation marks as given] [page 3]