Early results from Kyrgyzstan's presidential election gave an overwhelming lead to incumbent Kurmanbek Bakiyev in a vote the opposition said was rigged.
The vote yesterday triggered the worst political crisis in Kyrgyzstan in years at a time when the West is keen to preserve stability in a country lying on a key supply transit route for US troops fighting the Taliban in nearby Afghanistan.
The central election commission said today that Mr Bakiyev had 89.2 per cent of the vote after more than a third of ballots had been counted. Opposition challenger Almazbek Atambayev, who has denounced the election as rigged, had 6 per cent, it said.
"Bakiyev lost this election. Kyrgyzstan has no legitimate president. He could have easily been given 190 per cent," Mr Atambayev told Reuters after the early count was announced.
"This election has been stolen from us. We plan to offer evidence of election fraud."
An impoverished nation of alpine villages, clan rivalries and strong nomadic traditions, Kyrgyzstan appeared calm after a day of tension but the opposition said it planned more protests.
In a small regional town Thursday, police fired in the air and used batons to break up a crowd of protesters. Mr Bakiyev has vowed to use all means to preserve stability.
The Muslim nation lies at the centre of US-Russian rivalry for control of Central Asia, a vast, conflict-prone region north of Iran and Afghanistan, and both the United States and Russia have military air bases in the country.
Reuters