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Explaining electoral reforms:
testing the congruence model of legitimacy (Kyrgyzstan case)

Mukhametov R.S.,

Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Yekaterinburg, Russia, muhametov.ru@mail.ru

elibrary_id: 538787 | ORCID: 0000-0002-5175-8300 | RESEARCHER_ID: AAL-7504-2021

Article received: 2024.10.05 16:20. Accepted: 2025.05.16 16:21


DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2026.03.08
EDN: WXTBLU

Rubric: Orbis terrarum

For citation:

Mukhametov R.S. Explaining electoral reforms: testing the congruence model of legitimacy (Kyrgyzstan case). – Polis. Political Studies. 2026. No. 3. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2026.03.08. EDN: WXTBLU

Abstract

Why are electoral reforms implemented or why are electoral systems used in parliamentary elections changed? The author argues that most previous studies have focused on cases of changes in the electoral system in consolidated democracies. The object of this study is electoral reform in Kyrgyzstan, which was implemented in 2021. The theoretical basis for explaining institutional changes is grounded in sociological institutionalism in general and the congruence model of legitimacy in particular. Applying process-tracing as a case study method, the author seeks to answer the following research question: why did the parties represented in the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan (known as the Jogorku Kengesh) support the bill that provided for the introduction of a mixed electoral system in parliamentary elections instead of proportional representation? The results obtained challenge the dominant approach in the academic literature (rational institutionalism), and confirm the central role of electoral legitimacy in stimulating electoral reform in the Central Asian republic. The main conclusion of the author is that the institutional changes were caused by the delegitimization of the results of the 2020 parliamentary elections in the eyes of some participants in the electoral process. The article emphasizes that electoral reform is a response to the decline or loss of legitimacy of the political institution in general and the electoral system in particular. The results allow us to rethink the causes and consequences of electoral reforms not only in Kyrgyzstan, but also in other countries with similar political contexts, and also stimulate further research on the role of legitimacy in institutional change and democratic transition.

Keywords

electoral reform, institutional changes, rational institutionalism, sociological institutionalism, electoral system, parliamentary elections, Kyrgyzstan.

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