Kyrgyz authorities nullify election results amid violent protests
Moscow, Oct 6 (efe-epa).- Kyrgyzstan’s electoral commission on Tuesday nullified results from parliamentary elections which the opposition has denounced as fraudulent.
Violent protests have been held in the capital Bishkek since Sunday’s elections results were announced, with at least one person dying and nearly 600 injured in the unrest, the Kyrgyz health ministry said.
“The members of the Commission decided to annul the results of the parliamentary elections held in Kyrgyzstan on 4 October,” Central Electoral Commission president Nurzhan Shaildabekova said, according to Interfax news agency.
Shaildabekova added that the unanimous decision was taken to “prevent tensions” from rising in the country.
The government issued a statement “with a call for stability and adherence to the laws of the country.”
Before the Commission’s ruling, President Sooronbay Jeenbekov issued a statement on Tuesday urging opposition leaders to “calm their supporters down and take them away” from the street protests while accusing “political forces” of sparking the protests in an attempt “to usurp power”.
“They did not obey law-enforcers, they beat up medical workers and damaged buildings,” he said, adding that he had “taken all the possible measures to prevent an escalation.”
Thousands of people gathered on Monday in the wake of the parliamentary election results, which saw only four parties – three of which have close ties with the president – win enough votes to enter parliament.
None of the established opposition parties won a seat.
On Monday, the 12 opposition groups said they would not recognize the results of the election.
They accused the ruling coalition of rigging the election by buying votes, ballot stuffing and voter intimidation, allegations that international observers have said are credible.
The largely peaceful gathering turned violent in the evening and saw protesters storm parliament and other government buildings.
Protesters also freed jailed opposition figures including Kyrgyzstan’s former president Almazbek Atambayev, who was serving an 11-year sentence for corruption.
Atambayev and Jeenbekov are former Social Democrat Party allies, but the former left the party in May 2019, bringing some of his supporters with him as they formed splinter groups. EFE-EPA
bsi/ks/rb
