Once-jailed Populist Japarov Sworn In As Kyrgyz President

Populist Sadyr Japarov was sworn in as president of ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan Thursday, completing a remarkable transformation from prisoner to president in just a few months

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Jan, 2021 ) :Populist Sadyr Japarov was sworn in as president of ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan Thursday, completing a remarkable transformation from prisoner to president in just a few months.

Japarov, 52, was serving jail time on hostage-taking charges before being freed during a political crisis over a parliamentary vote in October, beginning a dizzying rise to the top job.

He won a January 10 presidential election by landslide with close to 80 percent of the vote.

Japarov on Thursday swore to "preserve the integrity of the people and the security of the country" as he placed his hand on the Kyrgyz constitution, which is set to be overhauled in the coming months.

Voters chose a presidential form of government over a parliamentary model in a referendum held in parallel to the presidential vote.

A Kyrgyz cabinet official said Japarov would make his first foreign trip as president to Russia, where hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz live and work.

Japarov called the exodus a "tragedy" at his inauguration ceremony.

"I, like all patriots of the country, dream that Kyrgyzstan will become economically developed, dynamic, strong and free," Japarov said.

"A country where human rights are observed, where there is a dictatorship of law, and youth look to the future with optimism." Japarov's "dictatorship of law" comment parrots the famous catchprase of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Yet Moscow has taken a dim view of political upheavals in the mountainous country of 6.5 million that looks to next-door China for loans and investment.

Putin last year called the overthrow of the previous government a "misfortune" and chided Bishkek for seeking a political model based on Western democracies.