Political crisis in Kyrgyzstan deepens after election declared void
Oct 10, 2020
Bishkek [Kyrgyztan], October 11 : After parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan were declared invalid, several political factions have been competing to fill in the positions which has brought the Kyrgyzstani government to a standstill this week.
Kyrgyzstani President Sooronbay Jeenbekov's location has been unknown since the opposition forces broke into the parliamentary building on Tuesday and seized other government complexes as well. Some speculate that he has fled the country, The Washington Post reported.
However, Jeenbekov said that irrespective of his whereabouts, he still remains in power. On Friday, he dismissed Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov and his cabinet and claimed that he is ready to resign once the new leadership is appointed.
The political deadlock in Kyrgyzstan has been encouraged by a divided opposition which has failed to agree upon the new leader of the provisional government, which in turn has made it ambiguous whether a seamless transfer of power is possible.
Lawmakers fragmented into factions and met at separate locations to decide the new Prime Minister. However, they could not gather enough votes for a quorum. Even the outgoing parliament has not been assembled.
Following the political uprising in Belarus and the territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the turbulence in Kyrgyzstan has created greater concerns regarding the instability on the Russian periphery.
"In a possible sign that a resolution to the Kyrgyz stalemate could be in the works, two rival candidates, Omurbek Babanov and Tilek Toktogaziyev agreed on a power-sharing deal for the post of the prime minister and were backed by four parties," reported Washington Post citing the local news website 24.kz.
Bishkek on Friday saw rival protests which resulted in the imposition of a state of Emergency until October 21. The military would be deployed to Bishkek "to organize checkpoints, to prevent armed clashes, to ensure law and order, and to protect the civilian population," Jeenbekov's office announced.
At one rally, a car carrying former president Almazbek Atambayev, who was freed from a detention center by opposition protesters earlier this week, was shot at, according to a video posted to social media. His party described the incident as "an assassination attempt" and said Atambayev was not harmed, Washington Post said.
The uprising began after Jeenbekov was accused of buying votes. The protests of Monday and Tuesday injured hundreds and opposition forces appointed their own ministers, including Sadyr Japarov for prime minister which was later deemed illegitimate.
Alexander Bortnikov, director of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), had a phone conversation with Kyrgyz Security Council Secretary Omurbek Suvanaliyev on Thursday, where the Kremlin asked to discuss the unrest. However, the statement issued by the Kyrgyz State Committee for National Security said that Suvanaliyev had been removed from his post.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday, "The situation looks like a mess and chaos," he added that Russia is "deeply concerned about the unfolding situation."
