In Kyrgyzstan the government has collapsed.

In December 2010 a four-party coalition was formed, comprising the Respublika party, Social Democratic Party, Ar-Namys (Dignity) and Ata-Meken (Fatherland) parties. The first PM was Almazbek Atambayev from the Social Democratic Party. When Atambayev became president in December 2011, he was replaced by  Omurbek Babanov from the Respublika party.

PM Babanov has been under pressure for some time. RFE/RL reports that he was accused of accepting a horse in return for offering a government contract to a particular company. All summer, there have been reports from the Kyrgyzstan press agency about a no-confidence motion. Deputies from parties in the coalition have been quoted as supporting such a motion.

Last week, the Ar-Namys (Dignity) and Ata-Meken (Fatherland) parties formally withdrew from the coalition. On Friday, RFE/RL reports, President Atambayev has formally dismissed the government. This means someone had to be given the task of forming a new government has to begin within three days. That person has 15 days to try to do so. Today, RFE/RL reports that President Atambayev has asked a representative of the Social Democratic Party to try to form a government.

The problem is that apart from the four parties in the outgoing coalition there is only one other party in the parliament, the Ata-Zhurt (Fatherland) party. A majority requires the agreement of at least three of the five parties in the parliament. This is likely to prove difficult. In all likelihood there will be early elections.