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Kyrgyzstan election result declared invalid after mass protests Kyrgyzstan election result declared invalid after mass protests
(about 8 hours later)
Decision follows protests over results that attributed majority of votes to parties with ties to ruling elite Decision follows protests that left one dead and nearly 600 injured
The central election commission of Kyrgyzstan has declared the results of the weekend’s parliamentary election invalid after mass protests erupted in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, and other cities. A violent protest in the wake of elections in Kyrgyzstan has left the country in political turmoil, with opposition forces declaring themselves in charge and the president clinging on to power but largely absent. Street clashes on Monday night left one person dead and hundreds injured. It was not clear on Tuesday who, if anyone, was in charge of the country.
Opposition supporters had seized government buildings overnight, freed the ex-president from jail and demanded a new election. Hundreds of people were hurt and one person died. The Kyrgyz health ministry said one person was killed and nearly 600 injured during the night of protest on Monday in the capital, Bishkek, and other cities. Cars were burned across the centre of town, while there appeared to be looting taking place inside the parliament building. Police used teargas and stun grenades.
The decision was made in order to “avoid tension” in the country, the head of the commission, Nurzhan Shaildabekova, told the Interfax news agency. The country’s central election commission said it would annul the results of Sunday’s vote. “The decision aims to prevent an escalation of tensions in the country,” the head of the commission, Nurzhan Shaildabekova, told Interfax on Tuesday.
Before the commission’s declaration, the president, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, had accused “certain political forces” of trying to “illegally seize power” in the country and urged the opposition to get people off the streets. Sixteen parties stood in the election. Official results gave the majority of seats to two parties supportive of the president, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, amid reports of vote buying and other violations. A coalition of 12 parties said it did not accept the election result.
Mass protests in Bishkek and other cities in the country in central Asia broke out after the authorities announced early results of Sunday’s parliamentary election. They attributed the majority of votes to two parties with ties to the ruling elites, amid reports of vote-buying and other violations. Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous former Soviet republic that borders China, has a history of violent revolutions, with two previous presidents toppled after pressure from the street.
Supporters of a dozen opposition parties took to the streets on Monday, demanding the cancellation of the vote and a new election. Over the past two decades, Moscow, the US and China have competed for influence in the country. Kyrgyzstan hosts a Russian air base and for some years also hosted a US base, due to its proximity to Afghanistan. The Russian defence ministry said it was putting its Kant airbase on high alert due to the current events, and the Kremlin said it was monitoring the situation closely.
Police moved to disperse the crowds with water cannon, teargas and stun grenades; 590 people sustained injuries in clashes with police and one person died, the Interfax news agency reported, citing Kyrgyzstan’s health ministry. “We are of course worried about this, and we hope that all political forces will find the strength to stick to the constitution and to find a solution to the situation,” said president Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. Along with unrest in Belarus and fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, the violence in Kyrgyzstan is another flashpoint in areas the Kremlin considers its sphere of influence.
The violent crackdown failed to curb the unrest, and during the night protesters broke into the government complex that houses both the parliament and the presidential office. Interfax reported that opposition supporters also took control of Bishkek’s city hall. Jeenbekov, who fled his government offices in the early hours of Tuesday, surfaced in a brief video statement in which he called for calm and accused the opposition of “trying to illegally seize power”. He also ordered his security forces not to fire on protesters. He said he was on board with annulling the election results.
Another group of protesters went to Kyrgyzstan’s state committee of national security, demanding to free the former president Almazbek Atambayev, who was convicted on corruption charges earlier this year and sentenced to 11 years and two months in prison. Security officers released Atambayev after negotiations with the protesters. “I proposed to the central election commission to thoroughly investigate the violations and, if needed, cancel the results of the vote,” he said.
Members of several opposition parties announced plans to oust Jeenbekov and create a new government. Protesters also negotiated the release of former president Almazbek Atambayev, who was serving an 11-year jail sentence on corruption charges. He had said the charges were politically motivated. He did not immediately make any claim to power, and Jeenbekov did not appear ready to step down.
“We intend to seek the dismissal of Sooronbai Jeenbekov from his post,” Maksat Mamytkanov, a member of the Chon Kazat party, told Interfax on Tuesday, adding that opposition parties also insisted on adopting a new constitution. Instead, a group of opposition parties said they had set up a coordination council that would oversee the formation of a new government. “The leaders of parties that took part in the election have assumed responsibility for restoring public order,” the council said in a statement.
Zhanar Akayev of the Ata Meken opposition party was quoted by the Kyrgyz service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as saying that “a new prime minister and the people’s government need to be appointed”, and then “a popular election” held. Among the five post-Soviet “Stans”, Kyrgyzstan has always been a political outlier. While the other four countries have been ruled by autocrats, Kyrgyzstan has seen real political competition and scrappy but democratic elections. However, popular anger has also been expressed on the streets, with two previous presidents toppled in violent revolutions over the past decade and a half. The country’s regional and ethnic divides, as well as pervasive corruption, have added to the instability.
Jeenbekov on Tuesday urged leaders of opposition parties to “calm their supporters down and take them away” from the streets. There is now a power vacuum in the country as various political forces try to position themselves to take advantage of the situation. Protesters have taken over several government buildings, including the Bishkek mayor’s office, and the speaker of the parliament, Dastan Jumabekov, resigned on Tuesday. But it was unclear how or when replacement figures would take over.
“I proposed to the central election commission to thoroughly investigate the violations (reported during the parliamentary election) and, if needed, cancel the results of the vote,” the Kyrgyz president said in a statement. The finance ministry released a statement on Tuesday saying it had stopped all activity until a new, legitimate government was formed. The ministry “held an emergency meeting and recognised the authority of the people”, it said.
“I call on all (political) forces to put the fate of the country above their political ambitions and return to (acting) within the law,” Jeenbekov said. Police were reported to be absent from the streets of Bishkek on Tuesday evening and some locals were forming self-defence groups to prevent looting. Also on Tuesday, protesters overran and set fire to a Russian-operated factory at Jeruy, the country’s second largest gold deposit, Reuters reported.