Ata-Zhurt ( ky, Ата-журт, , sometimes romanized as Ata-Jurt) is a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
. Its political base is in the south of the country, but the party is headquartered in the capital
Bishkek
Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...
. The party is led by
Kamchybek Tashiyev, and has previously supported the ousted former President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Kurmanbek Saliyevich Bakiyev (, ''Kurmanbek Saliyevich (Sali Uulu) Bakiyev''; born 1 August 1949) is a Kyrgyz politician who served as the second President of Kyrgyzstan, from 2005 to 2010. Large opposition protests in April 2010 led to the tak ...
.
2010 parliamentary elections
In the
Kyrgyzstani parliamentary election, 2010, the party said it would seek to restore Bakiyev to power, and claimed it was more popular than the interim government. The party also suggested it would roll back the
2010 referendum and restore the
presidency
A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by ...
to its former state.
On 7 October, the party's headquarters in Bishkek were ransacked and party literature set on fire by a groups of demonstrators who called for the party to be banned. The demonstrators allegedly included family members of the victims of April 2010 violence in Bishkek.
In the election, the party won a number of seats from its traditional southern bastion, though it barely passed the threshold in the capital and the
Chuy
Chuy () is a city in the extreme east of Uruguay, in the Rocha Department, northeast of Montevideo. It lies on the border with Brazil, separated from its Brazilian sister town of Chuí only by a shared avenue that serves as the border, and by th ...
region. The party received the votes of 8.89% of eligible voters, giving it 28 of 120 seats in parliament. This result made the party the first of five parties to surpass the support threshold of 5% of eligible voters necessary to enter parliament. As a result, Ata-Zhurt was part of the governing coalition with its MP
Akhmatbek Keldibekov chosen as Speaker of Parliament.
Among the party's parliamentary
deputies
A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for e ...
are some individuals of non-Kyrgyz ancestry, including
Ravshanbek Sabirov, the first
Tajik to hold such a position, and
Roman Shin.
Violence
Kamchibek Tashiyev, the head of Ata-Zhurt, said he had been attacked in his home on 23 October 2010. "They broke in like bandits...I think they intended to shoot me. I believe they tried to eliminate me — the forces that want to cancel election results and impose a state of emergency. I know for sure, GSNB (security services) was behind these actions."
References
External links
Ata-Jurt website{{Kyrgyzstani political parties
Political parties in Kyrgyzstan
Political parties established in 2004
2004 establishments in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz Revolution of 2010