New The York Times > AP > International > Group Criticizes Kyrgyzstan Elections
February 28, 2005 Group Criticizes Kyrgyzstan Elections By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 5:17 p.m. ET BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) -- International election observers on Monday criticized Kyrgyzstan's parliamentary elections as falling short of democratic standards and urged authorities to change their ways ahead of second-round balloting in two weeks. In Bishkek, a small number of opposition demonstrators scuffled with government supporters during a rally. Early results from the Sunday vote showed more than half the contests for the 75 parliament seats heading for runoffs, leaving the political future unsettled for the ex-Soviet republic in Central Asia. The first-round victors included the son of President Askar Akayev, Aidar, although the leader's daughter, Bermet Akayeva, must face a runoff. The election was widely seen as a key test for Kyrgyzstan's commitment to democracy ahead of October presidential elections. Akayev, who has led Kyrgyzstan since 1990, is prohibited from seeking another term, but the opposition accused his supporters of plans to manipulate the vote so a compliant parliament would amend the constitution to allow a third term. Akayev denies wanting another term. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Kyrgyzstan had shown advancements in the balloting since the last parliamentary election five years ago. But it cited faults, mostly charges of interference with the media. In the week before the vote, electricity was cut off to the printing house that puts out most of Kyrgyzstan's independent newspapers and broadcasts of U.S.-funded Radio Liberty's Kyrgyz-language service were taken off FM frequencies, the OSCE said. ``This is a very, very serious problem, and that is one of the bases why we are not happy with the election environment in this country,'' said Kimmo Kiljunen of the OSCE's parliamentary assembly. criticisms The were rejected by Central Elections Commission chairman Sulaiman Imanbayev. ``There are double standards in their assessments,'' he said. He also noted that observer groups from the Commonwealth of Independent States -- a loose grouping of former Soviet republics -- and the Shanghai Cooperation Council, dominated by Russia, China and several Central Asian nations, did not report serious violations. Some analysts suggest Kyrgyzstan is ripe for an outburst of the mass protests experienced by other post-Soviet countries, such as last year's mass demonstrations after fraud-marred elections in Ukraine and the 2003 ``Rose Revolution'' in Georgia that brought down Eduard Shevardnadze. A number of opposition figures were barred from running in Sunday's elections. In one district where protests broke out, voting was postponed until March 13. In a second, more than 60 percent of the voters marked their ballots against all candidates, meaning a new vote must be held there. Of the remaining 73 seats, about 40 will be contested in a runoff election because no candidate received an absolute majority, according to early results. With so many races le...