The Kyrgyz parliamentary elections have concluded with second round run-off votes in 39 of the 75 constituencies. Unsurprisingly the opposition took a beating and ended up with only 6 seats in the new parliament.
Nathan, as usual, has an excellent roundup - here are a couple of highlights:
In sum, President Akayev has a huge majority in the new parliament, protests have spread, and an opposition congress has called for Akayev to resign.
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Some mysterious group called the London International Democracy Institute has declared the elections to be as pure as a snow-white lamb. I can find nothing about this group, but would not be surprised in the least if it was somehow affiliated with the British Helsinki Human Rights Group (whose tagline might as well be “Your dirty election declared clean in 30 minutes or your pizza’s free.”)
The news of continued protests is heartening, although the news that a regional governor has been taken hostage is less welcome. The level of protest, and the endurance of protestors, demonstrates that the opposition does have a significant level of strength and, more importantly I think, organisation. Presidential elections are due in October and, if President Akayev stands down as promised, this could provide a window of opportunity for the opposition during which their experiences of the last month or so will stand them in good stead.
- What next?
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