A bill that would streamline existing requirements to occupy cabinet-level governmental posts in Kyrgyzstan seems on its way to parliamentary approval. Some are dubbing it the Kyrgyz Musk Act.

A parliamentary committee approved the bill on March 18. It is not certain when the full legislature will take up the measure. The draft law in its current form would remove an existing requirement that a nominee for a cabinet post have at least a decade of prior experience in government, including five in a leadership position. 

That requirement places an unnecessary restriction on the potential candidate pool for top governmental posts, according to Marlen Mamataliev, a leading proponent of the bill. Specifically, he thinks government can be more efficient and effective if led by entrepreneurs with experience mainly in the business world.

“This is being done for the educated and intelligent citizens of our country who have succeeded, for example, abroad, and work in large global companies. We have a lot of guys like Elon Musk,” RFE/RL quoted Mamataliev as saying, referring to the proposed rules changes.

Musk himself has proven a supremely divisive figure in American politics in just two months in his high-profile, unelected and Senate-unconfirmed role as the Trump administration’s efficiency maven. Even the ardently pro-government media outlet Fox News has labelled him a “lightning rod” for controversy.

Kyrgyzstan has been buffeted by political volatility for much of the 21st century, including multiple bouts of upheaval that forcibly toppled governments. In the 34 years since Kyrgyzstan gained independence amid the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, the country has had 33 prime ministers.

The Kyrgyz bill, though appearing to have broad support from MPs, does have some vociferous critics in the legislature. “If a candidate has not worked a day in the civil service, how can he become a leader?” Vice Speaker Nurbek Sydygaliev stated. The RFE/RL report also cited Azamat Attokurov, an expert on good governance for Unison Group, a Bishkek-based management consultancy, as saying that easing the existing qualifications could exacerbate the problem of grand corruption in the country.

Kyrgyzstan’s ranking in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index has tanked in recent years. In its most recent survey, Kyrgyzstan ranked 146th out of the 180 countries surveyed. A decade ago, the country was 123rd.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyz legislators on March 19 ratified a treaty that demarcates the country’s border with Tajikistan. Kamchybek Tashiev, head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security, revealed to MPs that Tajikistan relinquished claims to 210,000 hectares of Kyrgyz territory to get the frontier deal done.

This article first appeared on Eurasianet here.