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Thus, the court provided an official clarification of the constitutional norms at the request of the president. The discussion concerned Article 67, the second paragraph of Part 2 of Article 68, and Part 1 of Article 72, as well as their relation to the 2010 Constitution and the Law "On the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic," adopted in a referendum on April 11, 2021.
In its decision, the court noted that the mandate obtained through elections is a result of the direct expression of the will of the citizens, which gives it legal force. Changing the terms of office retroactively is unacceptable.
The Constitutional Court also indicated that an attempt to shorten the term of office contradicts the principles of legal certainty and the legitimacy of elections. The new Constitution should not affect already established social and legal relations based on previous regulations.
The court referred to Part 1 of Article 3 of the Law "On the Constitution of the KR," which states that the president elected for a six-year term in 2021 continues to exercise their powers according to the new Constitution, with this term counted as the first in the limitation of two terms.
It was also clarified that counting the six-year term as the first does not imply its reduction or recalculation. This is relevant solely for the new rules regarding the number of terms and does not change the date of completion of the current mandate.
Thus, the sitting president will complete their term within the six-year period, while the provisions regarding the five-year term will apply to future elections.
The Constitutional Court specified that the grounds for early elections are strictly defined and listed in Part 1 of Article 72 of the 2021 Constitution: these are resignation by application, removal from office, inability to fulfill duties due to health reasons, or death.
Public discussions about the terms of office cannot serve as a reason for the early termination of the mandate.
In the absence of such grounds, the standard electoral cycle regime applies.
The next presidential elections are scheduled for January 24, 2027, which corresponds to the fourth Sunday of January.
The Jogorku Kenesh must appoint the elections no later than four months before the voting date, that is, by September 24, 2026.
