Japarov seeks second term in Kyrgyzstan election on 27 January 2027

Who is running

No candidate is registered yet. Nominations are open until 13 November 2026. In the first ten days nobody applied to the Central Election Commission, the body that runs the vote, the news agency AKIpress reported on 5 October.

Sadyr Japarov has been president since 28 January 2021. He won an early election on 10 January 2021 with 79.2% of the vote. In August 2026 he said he intends to run for another term, and that nobody would be restricted from running.

Omurbek Suvanaliev, a former acting interior minister, said in September 2026 that he intends to run so that there is an alternative to Japarov. He ran for president in 2011 as a self-nominated candidate.

How the vote works

Polling stations are open from 8:00 to 20:00 local time on 27 January, a Wednesday and a paid day off. Citizens abroad vote during the same hours, by local time.

A candidate who wins more than half of the votes cast is elected in the first round. If nobody does, the two with the most votes meet in a runoff within 20 days of the day the results are determined.

To register, a candidate needs at least 30,000 voter signatures by 8 December and a deposit of 1 million soms. Registration ends on 23 December 2026.

How the race got here

Japarov was elected under a constitution that allowed one six-year term. The constitution adopted in 2021 allows two five-year terms. In April 2025 the election was moved from October 2026 to January 2027 so that he could complete his mandate. The Constitutional Court ruled in 2026 that this mandate counts as his first, which allows him to run again.

In February 2026 a group of 75 public figures called in an open letter for an early presidential election. Within hours Japarov dismissed Kamchybek Tashiyev, the head of the state security service. On 2 July a court convicted Tashiyev and seven others of plotting to overthrow the government. On 10 September an appeal court changed the offence to interfering with voting rights and kept the four-year sentences, served as probation. The conviction prevents Tashiyev from running.

On 24 September 2026 parliament called the vote for 27 January 2027, a Wednesday, after a law signed in July moved election day from a Sunday.

What happens next

1. Sep 24Parliament calls the vote
2. today
3. Nov 13Nominations close
4. Dec 8Deadline for voter signatures
5. Dec 23Registration ends and campaigning begins
6. Jan 272027Voting day
7. Feb 172027Deadline to determine the results

Campaigning runs from 23 December 2026 until 8:00 on 26 January 2027. After the polls close, the Central Election Commission posts preliminary figures by polling station as they arrive. It must determine the results by 17 February 2027.

A runoff, if needed, follows within 20 days of that. The winner takes the oath of office within 30 days of the official publication of the results.