Kyrgyzstan plans to abolish its existing regions and districts and replace them with aimaks, or new administrative units. Elchibek Dzhantaev, director of the State Agency for Civil Service and Local Self-Government, announced the plans, according to Kaktus.media.
More than 20 aimaks planned
According to Dzhantayev, the term aimak will refer to administrative units smaller than the current regions. More than 20 such units are planned.
«Each region has its own unique potential. For instance, Issyk-Kul region can be divided into northern and southern parts. In Jalal-Abad and Osh regions, there are smaller districts alongside areas with significant development potential. Based on this logic, these territories will be consolidated and subsequently reorganized into aimaks,» Zhantayev said.
The first phase of Kyrgyzstan’s administrative-territorial reform began in 2023. It involved adjusting the boundaries of certain districts and incorporating several settlements into cities. That year, President Sadyr Japarov also announced plans to abolish regions and districts as administrative units and replace them with more than 20 aimaks.
Read also: Kyrgyzstan’s bold 2035 plan: Zero debt and an end to revolutions.
Kazakhstan’s administrative reform
Kazakhstan has also recently undertaken administrative reforms to redraw the country’s administrative map. Notably, three new regions — Abai, Zhetysu and Ulytau — were established in 2022 on the instruction of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
In 2023, political analyst Petr Svoik described Tokayev’s decision as a political move aimed at restoring historical justice. Svoik said the reform would raise the status of these territories, ensure direct funding from the state budget through the central government and strengthen the administrative hierarchy without risking destabilization of the country’s political system.