Kyrgyzstan’s main opposition candidate yesterday demanded that a presidential election be declared illegal as polling was under way, denouncing what he called voter fraud and calling for street protests and a rerun.
Kyrgyz police earlier fired in the air and used batons to break up an opposition rally in a small provincial town in the ex-Soviet nation, home to US and Russian military bases. The abrupt turn of events in Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished Muslim state at the centre of US-Russia rivalry in central Asia, will be of concern to the US, which uses it as a transit point for its troops fighting in nearby Afghanistan.
Incumbent Kurmanbek Bakiyev, accused by critics of cracking down on dissent, is certain to win the vote. Authorities said they had done their utmost to make the poll fair and the election was valid, but the opposition cried foul.
“We demand this election be declared illegal,” Almazbek Atambayev, the main opposition challenger and former prime minister, told reporters. “This means that we refuse to take part in this election and legitimise President Bakiyev. Due to mass voter fraud we demand that this election be stopped and a new election held instead,” he added.
Despite the protest, the central electoral commission ruled the vote valid, and an exit poll published by Russian RIA news agency after the polling stations closed showed a 67 per cent lead for Mr Bakiyev. Mr Atambayev was second with 12.7 per cent.
Following Mr Atambayev’s call, about 1,500 opposition supporters gathered to attend a concert outside his election headquarters in Bishkek. Mr Atambayev has said the concert will grow into a rally, but authorities said they will not allow this.
The opposition supporters, who behaved peacefully, chanted “Atambayev! Atambayev!” in between pop and folk songs performed on the stage. There was no major police presence.
Bishkek, a city where Soviet architecture is mixed with traditional mudbrick houses, was the scene of violent protests in 2005 that toppled Mr Bakiyev’s predecessor.
Speaking alongside Mr Atambayev, another candidate, Jenishbek Nazaraliyev, said he had quit the race. The commission had not received any notification, media said.
Mr Nazaraliyev, a drugs rehab doctor, gained attention in 2005 when protesters used his clinic as the starting point of their march on state headquarters.
Mr Atambayev’s party said its observers had uncovered irregularities such as absentee ballot fraud. It said a number of its observers had been harassed at various polling stations.
The election monitoring arm of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said it was closely watching the vote.
Damir Lisovsky, head of the central election commission, said the vote was still valid after more than 60 per cent of Kyrgyzstan’s 2.7 eligible voters had cast their ballots.