European Forum

Bakiev wins turbelent presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan

On 24 July the central election commission announced that Kurmanbek Bakiev appears to be heading for reelection as Kyrgyz president, as he had won 87.7 percent of the 23 July vote. With ballots from more than half of polling stations counted, the election commission said that the main opposition challenger, Almazbek Atambaev, who has denounced the election as rigged, had just over 7 percent. The commission said that turnout was 79.3 percent. Other candidates were Temir Sariev, Umetalieva and Jenishbek Nazaraliev and Nurlan Motuev. Observers from the election monitoring arm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are due to give their assessment of the vote later on July 24.

After polls opened, former Prime Minister Almazbek Atambaev of the Social Democratic Party accused officials of election fraud and announced he was quitting the race, shortly after learning that one of his local campaign managers had been detained. Atambaev had been expected to present the only serious challenge to Bakiev. Independent candidate Jenishbek Nazaraliev also announced his withdrawal from the race after voting began, accusing officials of fraud. The detention of Mirbek Asanakulov, Atambaev's campaign manager in the Issyk-Kul area, sparked a protest that drew an estimated 1,000 people to the local mayor's office, according to reports. Police used percussion grenades and fired into the air to disperse the crowd, despite the presence of a local member of parliament among protesters.

"We refuse to take part in this false election and to legitimize President Bakiev". Atambaev said of his withdrawal. "The elections are being conducted in a dirty fashion -- very dirty -- because of the lack of confidence authorities have in themselves. The authorities, sensing defeat, are playing games. The authorities will lose without a doubt. The question is will people's voices be heard,” he said. Atambaev claimed his campaign workers had witnessed numerous examples of irregularities, including the stuffing of ballot boxes and voter lists in the capital, Bishkek, that included the deceased. He continued saying that "Bakiev is not going to be a legitimate president, and this government is completely illegitimate and has proven such through its actions." Atambaev called on people to stop voting and instead go out into the streets on election day and on July 24 to protest the election. Nazaraliev, who also withdraw from the election said "I am not for the right or for the left, I am simply for fair elections. When the country's leaders act unscrupulously, it is, of course, wrong." Atambaev and Nazaraliev said they were trying to convince another candidate -- Temir Sariev of the Ak-Shumkar Party -- to drop out as well. Bakiev denied widespread fraud and said that any irregularities would be of the type encountered in any election in any country and would not affect the outcome. "I have been saying to governors, mayors, and everyone from the very first day that 'I don't need your well-intentioned services. I don't need it. I believe that without it everything will work out fine,'" Bakiev said. "I'll put it another way -- there isn't a country in the world where there are elections that come off without a hitch, that are conducted smoothly. People are people."

Kyrgyzstan's first presidential vote following the so-called Tulip Revolution in 2005, won by Bakiev, was the first election in post-Soviet Central Asia to have been deemed free and fair by Western election observers. But criticism has mounted and internal political dissent sharpened in the ensuing four years, as former opposition allies traded bitter attacks and legislative and presidential forces revamped the constitution.

Sources: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty and 24.kg