Kyrgyzstan: Rally over Presidential Election

Kyrgyzstan closed the polls for a presidential election on Thursday (July 23). Incumbent Kurmanbek Bakiyevis is certain to win the vote and rule for another five years.

Bakiyevis leading rival, Almazbek Atambayev has many supporters.

Police broke up an opposition rally in a small provincial town. Another rally dispersed quietly after polls closed.

Around 1,500 opposition supporters gathered at a concert in Bishkek.

[Kuanyshbek Kukatayev, Local Resident]:
"The reason why we are here is that the elections are fraudulent. They were not fair, but we want fair elections. We want this presidential election to be declared illegal.

Another opposition supporter believed that the election was fraudulent.




[Tatiana Olkhova, Opposition Supporter]:
"We think the election is illegitimate, because there was a lot of administrative pressure."

Despite the protest, the central electoral commission ruled the vote valid. After the polling stations closed, an exit poll published by Russian RIA news agency showed 67 percent lead for Bakiyev. Atambayev was second with 12.7 percent.

Bakiyev came to power in 2005 after he charmed the West with promises of democracy following a wave of violent protests that unseated his long-serving predecessor, Askar Akayev. But critics accuse Bakiyev of cracking down on those that oppose him.

The abrupt turn of events in Kyrgyzstan will be of concern to the United States which uses it as a transit point for its troops fighting in nearby Afghanistan. The countrys stability is crucial in controlling the spread of radical Islam.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ntd
• ntdtv
• News
• Kyrgyzstan
• Rally
• Presidential
• Election
• polls
• fraudulent
• illegal
• RIA
• democracy
• radical
• Islam
• Afghanistan

[MrUlesus]

of course it was rigged.i'd be surprised if it wasnt........but what can e do about it???fucking kolhoznik bezdarnyi....navalili mavry