Presidential elections
October 31, 2011
Atambayev, believed to be a close ally of outgoing President Roza Otunbayeva, has won 63 percent of the vote in Sunday's polls, according to data by the central election commission. His closest rival, Adakhan Madumarov, won 14.8 percent, followed by Kamchybek Tashiyev at 14.3 percent.
"People said ‘no’ to a destabilization of society. Sunday’s events will be the first step to genuine unity in the country," the pro-Russia Atambayev announced after his victory.
Atambayev's fiery opponents
Atambayev’s rivals, Madumarov and former boxer Tashiyev, have refused to recognize the results, threatening "disturbances" if the results are not cancelled.
Supporters of Tashiyev on Monday blocked the main road connecting northern Kyrgyzstan to the south, while more than 300 people are reported to have gathered in the central square in Jalalabad, another main southern city.
Election observers, led by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), have also raised doubts about the vote count, although they applauded the peaceful manner in which the polls were conducted in the country which was a part of the former Soviet Union. The OSCE election observation mission noted several cases of multiple and family voting, vote-buying and ballot box stuffing in its report on the polls.
A tumultuous past
The coming days will continue to be a test of the country's political stability. In March 2005, President Askar Akayev was ousted during the "Tulip Revolution" and replaced by Kurmanbek Bakiyev who was then himself deposed and forced to flee the country in April 2010.
A former foreign minister, Otunbayeva took over then as interim leader. At the same time, a new constitution was adopted that restricted the president's powers and increased that of the parliament in a bid to hinder authoritarian rule.
Author: Manasi Gopalakrishnan (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Sarah Berning