As expected, the man who languished in prison just three months ago on a kidnapping charge won a landslide victory in Kyrgyzstan's January 10 early presidential elections.
Moreover, according to the results of the referendum held on the same day, Sadyr Japarov will soon receive new broad powers, and the influence of the parliament will decrease. From the point of view of pessimists, this will be the beginning of a new period of authoritarian rule.
When at the polling station where he came to vote, he was asked what result he expected, Japarov tried to behave calmly and not show emotions.
“God only knows,” he replied.
But he was lying. When the polling stations were just closing, Japarov's electoral team was already building a stage in the central square of Bishkek to celebrate the noble victory.
According to preliminary results, Japarov won nearly 80% of the vote. In a separate ballot, where voters were asked to choose whether they preferred a presidential or parliamentary form of government, more than 81% supported the former.
“Your votes cast for me fill me with strength and confidence, give me a boost to work. I will do my best to justify your trust. I came to power when the strength and economy of the country were in decline. In the near future I will improve our economic performance and take us out of the crisis,” Japarov told his jubilant supporters on the evening of January 10.
Only the turnout spoiled the mood. As of 18:00, two hours before polling stations close, only about 33% of voters have voted. In the previous presidential elections in 2017, this figure was close to 55%.
The runner-up, Adakhan Madumarov, who received, according to preliminary data, only 6.7% of the vote, said that he was sad for the Kyrgyz people. But he seems to be angry with him as well.
“I appeal to the citizens of Kyrgyzstan who have shown indifference. We are not yet ready to defend our civil rights. Showed irresponsibility to history. Let those who want to celebrate, dance. But I warn you that all this will not lead to anything good," he said.
Another losing candidate, Klara Sooronkulova, a former judge of the Constitutional Chamber who has become an active anti-corruption activist, seems to have come to terms with the situation.
“We have to respect him,” she told the Kaktus.media Internet portal.
Sooronkulova's attitude to the results of the referendum was also philosophical, which is surprising in light of the persistent resistance she had previously shown, calling what was happening a rollback to authoritarian rule.
“As for the referendum, the procedure for holding it, of course, is completely wrong. But in any case, there is no need to despair and there is material to work with,” she said.
The elections were the culmination of a turbulent 3 months in the political life of Kyrgyzstan. According to the results of the parliamentary elections held in early October, the legislative body of the new convocation should have differed little from the previous one.
But President Sooronbai Jeenbekov did not consider how much discontent this carefully orchestrated vote would cause. Anger turned into protests, which then escalated into riots. Amid the chaos that began, protesters released several imprisoned politicians.
Chief among them was the nationalist and instigator Japarov, whom his passionate, and often aggressive, supporters had with incredible haste to appoint the country's new leader. Not content with this, Japarov's team, who at one point simultaneously served as prime minister and president, quickly set about putting an end to Kyrgyzstan's parliamentary experiment. The referendum marked the successful conclusion of their efforts.
Political analyst Asel Doolotkeldieva expressed concern about this turn of events.
“I cannot believe that today Kyrgyzstan is voting for a president and a potentially strong presidential power! Just 3 months ago, we protested against the elections. Then a wave of our disappointment was saddled by a semi-criminal populist group,” Doolotkeldieva wrote in English on Twitter.
The Kloop news site has assembled a team of about 1,500 monitors across the country to track possible violations. They reported that the main problems were with the ballot boxes. According to the site, by 18:00 Kloop's observers recorded 745 failures of automatic ballot boxes throughout the country.
When asked to comment on the low turnout, CEC Chairperson Nurzhan Shildabekova said the reason was the decision to abandon Form # 2, which allowed people to vote at polling stations outside of their place of residence. The uniform was introduced in light of mass internal migration, but observers complained that in the October elections it created opportunities for voter bribery.
According to political commentator Azim Azimov, the uniform should not have been cancelled.
“I would like to repeat once again: the cancellation of Form No. 2 is an unconstitutional decision, squeezed by the will of the parties that lost on October 4. A citizen has the right to freedom of movement. It is absurd and anachronistic to deny the opportunity to vote by being linked to a polling station at the place of registration,” Azimov wrote on Twitter.
Reported by Asiais (Russia).
