Kyrgyz President Sets Fifth People's Kurultai for 18 December 2026, Limits Delegates to 700

President Sadyr Japarov has signed a decree designating 18 December 2026 as the date for the fifth People's Kurultai, a national assembly-style forum that the government says will bring together representatives from across Kyrgyzstan to discuss social and political issues. According to the decree, the convocation will be attended by 700 delegates and will be held under an organizing committee and a temporary regulation that have been approved to guide preparations.

The decree specifies that delegates will be elected in accordance with the constitutional law "Элдик курултай жөнүндө". It also tasks the Cabinet of Ministers, the Presidential Administration, regional administrations, local authorities and relevant state bodies with responsibilities for organizing the event and coordinating the selection and accreditation of delegates. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has been assigned responsibility for ensuring public security during the Kurultai.

Government announcements did not list the names of members of the organizing committee or provide details about the electoral formula to be used for choosing the 700 delegates beyond the reference to the constitutional law. The constitutional law "Элдик курултай жөнүндө" was adopted on 24 July 2023 and, under its provisions, the number of delegates was reduced from 1,070 to 700.

The decision follows a pattern of state-organized People's Kurultais that have taken place since 2022. The first People's Kurultai was held in November 2022. More recently, the fourth People's Kurultai convened on 25-26 December 2025 with 700 delegates representing all regions of the country. That session addressed a wide range of concerns raised by participants, including the country's external debt, the protection of human rights in detention facilities, land ownership and use, the right of compatriots living abroad to stand as election candidates, domestic violence, and education and schooling issues. The 2025 gathering also invited representatives of Kyrgyz citizens living overseas and members of various religious confessions.

The People's Kurultai concept has been discussed in Kyrgyz public life for many years, and the 2023 constitutional law provided a legislative framework to institutionalize the forum at the state level. Supporters view the Kurultai as a mechanism for gathering public input and focusing attention on pressing social problems; critics have previously questioned how delegates are selected and how recommendations from the forum translate into concrete policy or legal changes.

By setting out formal organizational responsibilities for central and local government bodies, the presidential decree seeks to centralize planning and security arrangements for the December 2026 gathering. The role assigned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in providing public safety follows past practice in which state security organs coordinate logistics for large national events.

As preparations proceed, attention will likely turn to how delegates are nominated and chosen under the existing law and whether civil society groups, opposition figures, regional representatives, and members of the diaspora are able to participate fully. The Kurultai's agenda and any resulting proposals may have implications for ongoing debates over governance, social policy, and rights protections in Kyrgyzstan. Further details on the membership of the organizing committee, the schedule of meetings, and the criteria for delegate selection have not yet been published.