Kyrgyzstan looking to lead way with poll

Voters in the turbulent Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan cast their ballots yesterday in a presidential election that many hope may set a democratic example for authoritarian neighbours.

A clean election would signal the first peaceful handover of the presidency in the mainly Muslim country after 20 years of failed authoritarian rule, the culmination of reforms set in motion after a bloody revolt toppled the president last year.

But as polls closed, six of the 16 candidates said the vote had been marred by multiple voting and poorly prepared lists.

“Tens of thousands of voters couldn’t vote in line with their constitutional rights. They are outraged,” said Adakhan Madumarov, one of two serious challengers to the Moscow-backed prime minister, Almazbek Atambayev.

Instability in Kyrgyzstan worries the US and Russia, which operate military air bases in the country of 5.5 million people and share concerns over drug trafficking and the possible spillover of Islamist militancy from Afghanistan.

“We want an honest president who can uphold the law, somebody who will not allow the country to be divided by clans or by north and south,” said 43-year-old schoolteacher Aida, who declined to give her second name.

Those who took power after an April 2010 revolution, led by outgoing president Roza Otunbayeva, have watered down the powers of the president and established parliament as the main decision-making body in Kyrgyzstan.

Mr Atambayev, the pro-business prime minister, is the flag-bearer of these reforms. “A parliamentary system is more suited to the nomadic spirit of the people,” Mr Atambayev told reporters after casting his vote.

“After 20 years, we are convinced that we don’t need absolute power, which can transform itself into dictatorship.”

The Central Election Commission said voter turnout was 57.9 per cent. Opinion polls have made 55-year-old Mr Atambayev the clear favourite.

But analysts question whether he can secure the outright majority required at the first attempt. If he falls short, he will face a strong challenger from the south in a run-off.

Per capita GDP in Kyrgyzstan, at below £620, is less than a tenth of that in its oil-rich neighbour, Kazakhstan. The economy relies heavily on remittances from migrant workers and the production of a single gold mine. The election threatens to expose a north-south cultural divide.

Mr Atambayev, from the more Russian-leaning and industrial north, faces challenges from Mr Madumarov and a second candidate who can draw on the nationalism of voters in the poorer south.

Mr Madumarov, a 46-year-old former national billiards champion, wants to reverse the constitutional reforms to give equal prominence to the presidency and parliament.

The other leading southern candidate, trained boxer and former emergencies minister Kamchibek Tashiyev, has said “millions” would take to the streets to overthrow the country’s leaders if they believed the elections to be unfair.

In the village of Gulbakhor, home to 3,000 ethnic Kyrgyz in the snowcapped mountains around the main southern city of Osh, residents voted overwhelmingly for Mr Madumarov.

“He’s young and honest, and his pockets are empty. He does not pursue selfish goals,” said Kamchy Aliyev, 82.

But ethnic Uzbeks in the south were voting for Mr Atambayev.