BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan – Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Monday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck. Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Monday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
Local news reports say at least one person has been killed and 590 others injured.
Preliminary election results gave a majority of votes to two parties joining the country’s ruling class amid allegations of vote-buying.
Later, the acting Kyrgyz Prosecutor General said the election result had been canceled, but a date for a new vote had not been set immediately. Local news media reported that 12 parties signed a document demanding that the authorities cancel the election results and plan a new one.
“Yesterday, during the election campaign and on election day, we all saw true blindness,” said Clara Soronkulova, leader of the opposition. “Pressure on voters, intimidation of voters, bribery.”
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said in a report on Monday that “fundamental rights and freedoms were fully respected” in this year’s elections in Kyrgyzstan, but “credible allegations of vote-buying are a matter of grave concern.” ”
Local news estimates put the rally in Bishkek at about 4,000, with small protests taking place in two other Kyrgyz cities.
A video of a protest in Bishkek showed a group of youths trying to break down the doors of a government complex that houses both parliament and the president’s office.
Police used water cannons, tear gas and flashbang grenades to disperse the crowd in the evening.
In the early hours of Tuesday, protesters managed to break into the government and state security station, local news website Akipress and 24.kg reported, according to Reuters.
Preliminary results from Sunday’s election, a report on Monday evening showed that only five of the 16 parties represented in the polls had won seats in the Kyrgyz parliament.
The pro-government Birmidik party received more than 26 per cent of the vote. The Meknim Kyrgyzstan party, which is linked to former top customs officials, has won more than 24 percent of the vote. The other three parties have passed the threshold of one percent to get seats in Parliament.
According to news reports, the unrest in Bishkek continued well into the night. Late Monday, the winning Birmidic party said it was ready to run in the new election, it should be determined, and urged other parties that won seats to do the same.
Kyrgyz President Suronbai Jinbekov called a meeting with leaders of all 16 parties on Tuesday morning.
