Election Abuse Claims Mar Kyrgyz Vote

IWPR editors Kaarmanbek Kuluev and Aida Kasymalieva review reports of procedural irregularities, including an apparent mismatch between official turnout figure and activity levels at polling stations, and suggestions that people were shepherded to vote en masse.



The OSCE said the conduct of the ballot fell short of its standards, while observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States – other former Soviet republics – said the election was “transparent and free”.



The incumbent Kurmanbek Bakiev, declared the winner by a massive margin, accepted that the elections had not gone “without a hitch”.



“We’re all human,” he added. “There may have been some shortcomings, but they weren’t so major as to influence the election process as a whole.”



Anecdotal evidence pointing to various procedural violations was gathered by IWPR radio contributors Alina Kenjeeva, Ulukbu Amirova, Jazgul Jamangulova, Rita Borbukeeva and Timur Toktonaliev.