Kyrgyzstan Presidential Election: Atambayev Has 63% Of Counted Vote
By Ria Novosti
Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev gained 62.88 percent of the vote in Sunday’s presidential election with more than 95 percent of the ballots counted, the Central Asian country’s main election body said on Monday.
Frontrunner Atambayev, 55, left his main challengers Adakhan Madumarov and Kamchibek Tashiyev far behind with 14.9 percent and 14.43 percent respectively, Central Election Commission (CEC) head Tuigunaly Abdraimov said. He however admitted that certain violations occurred during the polls.
No other candidates secured over 1 percent of the vote.
Sixteen candidates were running in the presidential polls that saw a turnout of just above 60 percent. A candidate gaining over 50 percent of the vote wins the election in the first round.
“The results are preliminary. The CEC will make public the final results once original protocols from all precincts are delivered to the CEC. We will check them here once again,” Abdraimov said.
Critics said the election was marred by fraud. Abdraimov admitted that ballot stuffing was registered at several precincts, adding that the election commission could annul the election results at them.
Interim President Roza Otunbayeva, who took power after Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted as president amid large-scale popular protests in April 2010, did not run in the polls as in line with the new Kyrgyz constitution, the president is elected for one six-year term. She is to leave the presidential post on December 31.
