Ata Meken Socialist Party (Fatherland)
Website: http://www.atameken.kg/, http://atamekenkg.com/
Chairman: Omurbek Tekebayev, deputy prime minister in the interim government (2010), former speaker of Parliament (2005-2006), member of Parliament (1995-2005).
Forecast for the October 10 parliamentary elections: Independent political analysts in Kyrgyzstan expect Ata Meken to win about 10-12 percent of the votes in the country, with only 1-2 percent of votes in the south.
Brief History and Major Highlights:
The Ata Meken party was founded in November 1992, when a liberal-centrist group split from the Erkin Kyrgyzstan party. The party participated in all parliamentary elections, winning seats in the Jogorku Kenesh in 1994 and 2000. The party chairman, Omurbek Tekebayev, was twice nominated for the presidency of Kyrgyzstan. Tekebayev served as a speaker of parliament from March 2005 until February 2006, when he resigned after a clash with President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. He also served as deputy prime minister in the interim government after the April uprising, but resigned in July 2010 to lead his party in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The party calls for a democratic state and economic reforms and can be considered center left. It favors compromise between various social sectors and government bodies.
• The party was founded on November 7, 1992, and registered with the Ministry of Justice on December 16, 1992.
• 1994 parliamentary elections: Won five seats.
• 1995 presidential election: The party nominated its chairman, Tekebayev, to run in the election, but his candidacy, although registered by the Central Election Committee, was later rejected by the Supreme Court.
• At the IV party convention on February 14, 1998, the party was renamed the Ata Meken Socialist Party.
• 2000 parliamentary elections: Won two seats.
• 2000 presidential election: Party chairman Tekebayev came in second with almost 14 percent of votes.
• 2007 parliamentary elections: 228,125 votes, zero seats won.
• The party is registered to participate in the October 10, 2010 parliamentary elections.
Political Platform: According to the party’s web site, its political platform includes the following issues:
• State Governance: To overcome three main problems of the existing system – the high level of corruption, regionalism and nepotism, and concentration of state power in the hands of one person – by introducing parliamentary governance and proportional election of parliament.
• Civil Society: Promote the division of power into three clearly separate and independent branches – legislative, executive, and judicial. Encourage public oversight and involvement of social institutions, including political parties, professional unions, non-governmental organizations, and public associations. Secure free and independent mass media.
• Economy: Promote socially responsible market economy that would encourage healthy competition, but protect domestic producers. Improve state governance of the economic sphere; create conditions to promote equal-opportunity competition for all subjects; make macroeconomic policy more goal-oriented; define science-based economic priorities, introduce active industrial policies, and improve legislature.
• Social Policy: The party’s social priorities include protecting the population’s income, strengthening the social security system, and providing accessible education and reliable and accessible healthcare.
• Foreign Policy and Security: Engage regional institutes of security, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Collective Security Treaty Organization, on equal terms, to eliminate common regional threats. Promote foreign investment and trade. Make the principles of pragmatism and flexibility cornerstones of the country’s foreign policy.
