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A violent protest in the wake of the elections in Kyrgyzstan has left the country in political turmoil, with opposition forces declaring themselves in charge and the president clinging to power but largely absent. The street clashes Monday night left one person dead and hundreds more injured. On Tuesday it was unclear who, if anyone, was in charge of the country.
The Kyrgyz Ministry of Health said one person was killed and nearly 600 injured during Monday’s night of protest in the capital Bishkek and other cities. Cars were burned in the city center, while looting appeared to be taking place inside the parliament building. The police used tear gas and stun grenades.
The country’s central electoral commission said it would annul the results of Sunday’s vote. “The decision is aimed at preventing an escalation of tensions in the country,” the head of the commission, Nurzhan Shaildabekova, told Interfax on Tuesday.
Sixteen parties stood for election. The official results gave the majority of seats to two parties that support the president, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, amid reports of vote buying and other violations. A 12-party coalition said it did not accept the election result.
Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous former Soviet republic bordering China, has a history of violent revolutions, with two former presidents toppled under pressure from the street.
Over the past two decades, Moscow, the United States, and China have vied for influence in the country. Kyrgyzstan is home to a Russian air base and for some years it also hosted an American base, due to its proximity to Afghanistan. The Russian Defense Ministry said it was putting its Kant airbase on high alert due to current events, and the Kremlin said it was monitoring the situation closely.
“Of course we are concerned about this, and we hope that all political forces will find the strength to adhere to the constitution and find a solution to the situation,” said President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Along with the unrest in Belarus and the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, the violence in Kyrgyzstan is another flash point in areas that the Kremlin considers its sphere of influence.
Jeenbekov, who left his government offices in the early hours of Tuesday, appeared in a short video statement in which he called for calm and accused the opposition of “attempting to take power illegally.” He also ordered his security forces not to fire on protesters. He said he agreed to annul the election results.
“I proposed to the central electoral commission to thoroughly investigate the violations and, if necessary, cancel the results of the vote,” he said.
The protesters also negotiated the release of former President Almazbek Atambayev, who was serving an 11-year prison sentence on corruption charges. He said the charges were politically motivated. He did not make any claims to power immediately, and Jeenbekov did not seem willing to resign.
Instead, a group of opposition parties said they had established a coordinating council that would oversee the formation of a new government. “The leaders of the parties that participated in the elections took on the responsibility of restoring public order,” the council said in a statement.
Among the five post-Soviet “Stans”, Kyrgyzstan has always been a political outlier. While the other four countries have been ruled by autocrats, Kyrgyzstan has witnessed real political competition and violent but democratic elections. However, popular anger has also been expressed in the streets, with two previous presidents overthrown in violent revolutions over the past decade and a half. The country’s regional and ethnic divisions, as well as widespread corruption, have added to the instability.
Now there is a power vacuum in the country as various political forces try to position themselves to take advantage of the situation. Protesters have seized several government buildings, including the Bishkek mayor’s office, and the speaker of parliament, Dastan Jumabekov, resigned on Tuesday. But it was unclear how or when replacement numbers would take over.
The Finance Ministry issued a statement Tuesday saying it had halted all activity until a new legitimate government was formed. The ministry “held an emergency meeting and recognized the authority of the people,” he said.
Police were reported to be absent from the streets of Bishkek on Tuesday evening and some locals were forming self-defense groups to prevent looting. Also Tuesday, protesters invaded and set fire to a Russian-operated factory in Jeruy, the country’s second-largest gold deposit, Reuters reported.
