The key facts
- 11 self-nominated candidates are so far vying in Kyrgyzstan's presidential election on January 27, 2027, including incumbent President Sadyr Japarov
- Japarov collected 60,000 signatures in less than a day; Siimyk Zhapiyev has 28,462 and Aymen Kasenov 24,905
- There are no officially registered candidates yet: the Central Election Commission must complete registration by December 23
11 contenders for the presidency
In Kyrgyzstan, the nomination stage for the early presidential election scheduled for January 27, 2027, ended on November 13. Eleven people declared their participation: the incumbent head of state, former deputies, ex-heads of law enforcement agencies and government bodies, entrepreneurs, and a former head of the Central Election Commission. All of them are running not on behalf of parties but through self-nomination. The list includes 10 men and one woman; the oldest candidate is 72, and the youngest will turn 35 in a few days.
The incumbent president is running for a second term
Incumbent President Sadyr Japarov collected almost 60,000 electronic signatures in less than a day after submitting his application to the Central Election Commission — twice the legally established minimum. Japarov came to power after the October 2020 events, won the early election on January 10, 2021, with approximately 79.2% of the vote, and officially took office on January 28, 2021.
The other participants
Siimyk Zhapiyev, known for the Chong Kazat movement and anti-corruption protests, previously headed the Financial Police and served as prosecutor of the Issyk-Kul region — he has 28,462 signatures. Entrepreneur Aymen Kasenov, who headed Gazprom Neft-Kazakhstan from 2007 to 2015 and already took part in the 2021 election (with less than 1% of the vote), collected 24,905 signatures. Ishak Masaliyev, son of Absamat Masaliyev, who led Kyrgyzstan in the final years of the USSR, has 21,750 signatures. The fewest so far belong to 72-year-old Mambetjunus Abilov, former head of the Central Election Commission and former emergency situations minister — 1,703 signatures. The list also includes economist Azamat Esenbekov, entrepreneur Akai Kidirov (the youngest participant), ex-deputy Baktybek Kalmamatov, former mayor of Jalal-Abad Bakytbek Adilov, little-known entrepreneur Amur Ayba Meder, and the only woman — 57-year-old lawyer Klara Sooronkulova, a former judge of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, who was involved in the Kempir-Ata case and acquitted by the court.
What comes next
There are no officially registered candidates yet — all 11 contenders still have to go through the established procedure. Until December 7, they may collect electronic signatures from voters: at least 30,000 are required for registration. Document acceptance will continue until December 13, and the Central Election Commission must complete the registration of candidates by December 23. This means the current list of 11 people will likely shrink: as of November 13, four of them had fewer signatures than the required threshold.
