BISHKEK --Kyrgyz opposition parties have rejected the preliminary results of the November 28 parliamentary elections, accusing the Central Election Commission (BShK) of fraud.
In a press conference in Bishkek late on November 28, the leaders of four opposition parties -- Ata-Meken (Fatherland), Azattyk (Liberty), Social-Democrats, and Uluttar Birimdigi (Unity of Ethnicities) -- demanded that the authorities annul the results and call a new election.
The opposition accused the BShK of “cheating” and “stealing” votes during a 40-minute malfunction of the tabulation monitor.
The opposition’s announcement comes as the BShK website said that more than 122,000 ballots – or about 10 percent of all ballots – have been found invalid.
According to the preliminary results, three pro-government parties were the big winners in the voting done on the basis of party lists where 54 of the 90 seats were determined.
The Ata-Jurt Kyrgyzstan party received 16.6 percent of the vote, the Ishenim (Trust) party had 13.3 percent, and the Yntymak (Harmony) party took 10.59 percent of the vote.
The other three parties that passed the five-percent threshold to take seats in parliament were the new Alyans party with about 8 percent, the opposition Butun (United) Kyrgyzstan party with 6.6 percent, and the Yyman Nuru (Ray of Faith) party with 5.2 percent.
In two Bishkek districts, most of the voters chose none of the parties and candidates, prompting election authorities to announce a new vote in both places.
There was controversy when the tabulation monitor at the BShK suffered a malfunction and after the problem was corrected it showed different figures with several parties that appeared to be on track to win seats suddenly falling below the five-percent barrier.
The leader of the Ata-Meken party, Omurbek Tekebaev, said that some 30,000 votes were “stolen” from his party as a result of the monitor malfunction.
The tabulation monitor initially showed that Ata-Meken had 71,000 votes, according to Tekebaev.
“[But] after the screen was turned off, and reloaded again, we had about 41,000 votes,” Tekebaev said.
In a similar complaint, the leader of Uluttar Birimdigi, Nurlan Adaev, claimed that his party had 47,074 votes before the screen went blank. When the screen was on again, it showed that the party had 17,000 fewer votes, Adaev said.
Some candidates in single-mandate districts appear to have won seats, among them Seidbek Atambaev, the son of former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev, Shaiyrbek Tashiev, the brother of Kyrgyzstan’s security chief Kamchybek Tashiev, and Iskender Matraimov, the brother of alleged organized crime figure Raimbek Matraimov.
According to the BShK, the voter turnout on election day on November 28 was 32.2 percent, the lowest-ever recorded for the Central Asian nation.
Analysts raised concerns about potential voter apathy before the poll, as this is Kyrgyzstan’s fourth vote in a little over a year.
Kyrgyzstan adopted a new constitution in a referendum in April that lowered the number of seats in parliament from 120 to 90, and changed the system of voting for candidates with 54 seats being selected by party list and the remaining 36 in single-mandate districts.
Violations were reported, such as people being brought to polling stations by minibuses organized by individual candidates or political parties.
There were also reports of some voters photographing their ballots before putting them in the ballot boxes. In previous elections those bribing voters demanded such photographs before handing over money.
According to other reports some of the new e-machines used for collecting ballots had malfunctioned.
The latest elections are a repeat of the failed parliamentary vote held in October last year that was quickly annulled by the BShK amid chaotic protests over alleged campaign violations and unfair voting practices.
Street protests have sparked government ousters three times in the past two decades, including after disputed parliamentary elections last year that swept the current president, Sadyr Japarov, to power after he was sprung from prison.
Japarov organized a presidential election and concurrent referendum changing the constitution to grant more power to the presidency, in a move critics say amounted to a power grab.
In April, Japarov pushed through constitutional changes in a referendum that granted sweeping powers to the presidency.
With the passing of the new constitution, the powers of parliament were reduced and the judiciary came under the influence of the president.
Last month, he fired the cabinet and merged the positions of prime minister and head of the president's office.
Just days before the November 28 parliamentary elections, Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security announced the arrest of 15 suspects in an alleged coup plot.
The committee said the alleged plotters included lawmakers in the parliament and former high-ranking officials, but it did not identify any suspects.
A spokesman for the intelligence service, Kumushbek Shabdanov, said the suspects had recruited about 1,000 people and were preparing for a postelection riot.
Officials said mass riots were part of the plan and that a search turned up weapons, ammunition, and drugs.
