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dpa
Moscow
Kyrgyzstan voted for acting president Sadyr Zhaparov in polls on Sunday, three months after unrest forced the previous incumbent to resign.
Zhaparov, who took the reins of power in the wake of post-election chaos following a disputed parliamentary vote in October, won 79 per cent of the vote, according to local media, after almost all the ballots were counted.
Voter turnout was 38 per cent, according to the central election commission.
Zhaparov’s closest challenger was the head of the Butun party, Adakhan Madumarov, who received 6 per cent of the vote, the electorial commission said.
The presidential election came months after thousands of protesters took to the streets in Bishkek, a city of about 100,000 people, after official election results were revealed to show broad approval for pro-government parties, with the front-runner loyal to then-president Sooronbay Jeenbekov.
Protesters stormed the parliament building, presidential offices and a prison facility, freeing Zhaparov, a former opposition leader, who was later appointed prime minister and then acting president, after Jeenbekov resigned in an effort to end the protests.
Voters also took part in a referendum on constitutional reform on Sunday. Despite low turnout of 34 per cent, the authorities said the results were valid.
Some 81 per cent of voters opted to increase the powers of the new president and reinstate the presidential system, abolished more than a decade ago, according to the results.
There was widespread criticism that the reform vote was allowed to go through, since the parliamentary elections have been delayed and the current legislature is controlled by allies of Zhaparov. October’s parliamentary vote was declared invalid after the riots and is now due to be conducted by September.
The Interior Ministry said more than 11,000 police officers were on hand to prevent unrest.
More than 3.5 million voters were eligible to take part in the election in the Central Asian republic, the region’s sole democracy.
Seventeen candidates stood for election.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which independently monitored the vote in October, reported irregularities, including “credible allegations of vote-buying.” Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic bordering China, with close ties to Russia, has undergone two revolutions in the past 15 years, in 2005 and 2010.
In 2010, after the fall of authoritarian former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the country saw a phase of democratization unprecedented in the region. It moved to develop a parliamentary republic along western lines, curtailing presidential powers in the process.
Moscow
Kyrgyzstan voted for acting president Sadyr Zhaparov in polls on Sunday, three months after unrest forced the previous incumbent to resign.
Zhaparov, who took the reins of power in the wake of post-election chaos following a disputed parliamentary vote in October, won 79 per cent of the vote, according to local media, after almost all the ballots were counted.
Voter turnout was 38 per cent, according to the central election commission.
Zhaparov’s closest challenger was the head of the Butun party, Adakhan Madumarov, who received 6 per cent of the vote, the electorial commission said.
The presidential election came months after thousands of protesters took to the streets in Bishkek, a city of about 100,000 people, after official election results were revealed to show broad approval for pro-government parties, with the front-runner loyal to then-president Sooronbay Jeenbekov.
Protesters stormed the parliament building, presidential offices and a prison facility, freeing Zhaparov, a former opposition leader, who was later appointed prime minister and then acting president, after Jeenbekov resigned in an effort to end the protests.
Voters also took part in a referendum on constitutional reform on Sunday. Despite low turnout of 34 per cent, the authorities said the results were valid.
Some 81 per cent of voters opted to increase the powers of the new president and reinstate the presidential system, abolished more than a decade ago, according to the results.
There was widespread criticism that the reform vote was allowed to go through, since the parliamentary elections have been delayed and the current legislature is controlled by allies of Zhaparov. October’s parliamentary vote was declared invalid after the riots and is now due to be conducted by September.
The Interior Ministry said more than 11,000 police officers were on hand to prevent unrest.
More than 3.5 million voters were eligible to take part in the election in the Central Asian republic, the region’s sole democracy.
Seventeen candidates stood for election.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which independently monitored the vote in October, reported irregularities, including “credible allegations of vote-buying.” Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic bordering China, with close ties to Russia, has undergone two revolutions in the past 15 years, in 2005 and 2010.
In 2010, after the fall of authoritarian former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the country saw a phase of democratization unprecedented in the region. It moved to develop a parliamentary republic along western lines, curtailing presidential powers in the process.
