Iskender Aidaraliyev, Governor of the Jalalabad region of Kyrgyzstan, is convinced that the country does not need prime ministers but needs the capital moved to Osh in the south. Aidaraliyev gave an extensive interview to Slovo Kyrgyzstana.

Commenting on the administrative reforms in the country, Aidaraliyev said he was for concentration on state power and all but suggested abolition of premiership. As far as the Jalalabad governor is concerned, Kyrgyzstan needs a strong power vertical with rights and powers of the local power structures greatly extended. "As long as we are not carried away with it... to the extent where the country becomes a testing site," he said. "Whoever entertains any doubts had better take a look at our neighbors who steadily develop without making an undue emphasis on all sorts of reforms."

Aidaraliyev suggested making Osh the capital of Kyrgyzstan - in the name of territorial integrity. "This region accounts for approximately 70-80% of all immigrants," he said and proceeded to say that it was where Kyrgyzstan had borders with three countries - Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and China - each of them with territorial claims and grudges and each facing the threat of religious extremism. "Unless we address these matters right now, the Kyrgyz state as such may disappear altogether," Aidaraliyev said.

Some deputies of the Kyrgyz parliament and the ombudsman have already proposed moving the capital southward. Promoters of the idea say it will facilitate national security and socioeconomic development of the backward region.