Kyrgyz PM Atambayev Leads Presidential Polls As 21% Of Ballots Counted
By Ria Novosti
With 21 percent of ballots counted, the incumbent Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev is leading in the presidential elections with 64.75 percent of votes, the Central Election Committee said on Sunday.
The former Kyrgyz Emergencies Minister Kamchibek Tashiyev and the ex-State Secretary Adakhan Madumarov go after Atambayev with 14.37 percent and 13.94 percent respectively.
A candidate who gains over 50 percent of the votes will win the polls that would be legitimate with any turnover level.
The turnover has already exceeded 60 percent, the Central Election Committee said.
Interim President Roza Otunbayeva, who took power after Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted as president amid large-scale popular protests in April 2010, is barred from running in the polls. She is to leave the presidential post on December 31.
In line with the new Kyrgyz constitution, the president is elected for one six-year term.
A total of 16 candidates are running in the elections.
Some 800 observers from 56 countries and more than 100 journalists are observing the polls.
The April revolution was the second since the 2005 Tulip Revolution that ousted post-Soviet leader Askar Akayev and brought Bakiyev to power.
