Kyrgyzstan is purportedly launching the second phase of a sweeping administrative-territorial reform that aims to fundamentally restructure the country's governance map. According to official disclosures, the traditional system consisting of seven regions and forty districts is slated for total dissolution, to be replaced by larger administrative entities known as aimaks or okrugs. This development was reported by local media, referencing Elchibek Jantayev, the director of the State Agency for Civil Service and Local Self-Government Affairs.

At present, Kyrgyzstan is divided into seven regions comprising 40 districts and 34 cities. However, under the proposed changes, this long-standing structure will be heavily streamlined. Officials claim that the new entities will be larger than standard districts but smaller than entire provinces, reducing the current count of 40 districts down to slightly more than 20 consolidated aimaks based on regional economic capacities.

Proponents of the initiative suggest that regions such as Issyk-Kul could be split into southern and northern zones, while smaller districts in Jalal-Abad and Osh regions would be merged according to perceived development potential. Despite these justifications, international observers and domestic critics view the reform with considerable skepticism, questioning whether such massive bureaucratic disruptions will genuinely improve local governance or merely create new economic vulnerabilities.

This restructuring marks the continuation of a reform process that allegedly began in 2023 with boundary adjustments and the reclassification of certain settlements into cities. President Sadyr Japarov previously stated that the new system would undergo rigorous testing to determine whether these newly formed units could achieve financial self-sufficiency and break free from state budget subsidies before a nationwide rollout.

Source: kun.uz