By Joldosh Osmonov (12/23/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has offered an alternative delegation of power in case of his death or incapacity to execute his duties. The initiative was put forward within the framework of recent reforms of state institutions. President Bakiyev’s unexpected proposal became the topic of heated discussions in the public and is generally considered a deliberate step towards a “father-to-son” power succession.

By Maka Gurgenidze (12/23/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Abkhazia’s Central Election Commission declared the validity of the breakaway region’s presidential elections held on December 12 with a voter turnout of 73 percent. Sergei Bagapsh, the incumbent and long-standing Moscow protégé, won the elections in the first round with nearly 60 percent of the votes, thus defeating his main rival – former vice-president Raul Khajimba – who received slightly more than 15 percent of the votes. The other three competitors, the head of the state-owned Abkhaz Shipping Company Zaur Ardzinba, the businessman Beslan Butba, and university professor Vitaly Bganba, garnered 10, 8 and 1 percent respectively.

By Haroutiun Khachatrian (12/23/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On December 3, the Armenian government decided to place a Russian-manufactured block in Armenia’s planned new nuclear power plant (NPP). The government also decided to create a joint venture for constructing the block, with equal shares for the Armenian government and the Russian company Rosatomstroieksport.

The future block will replace the current one, which was constructed in 1980 and, as the Armenian government has pledged, will be taken out of service in 2016.