Kyrgyzstan elects pro-business president
Source: Agencies |
November 1, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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KYRGYZSTAN'S Moscow-backed prime minister claimed victory yesterday in a presidential election.
With more than 99 percent of ballots counted, pro-business Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev had 63 percent of the vote, an outright majority that avoids the need for a run-off against a potentially strong rival from the south.
A trouble-free election would be the first peaceful transfer of power in the mainly Muslim former Soviet republic, which lies on a drugs route from Afghanistan and hosts both Russian and US military air bases.
Atambayev's two main challengers from a field of 16 each polled just below 15 percent. Both enjoy the support of Kyrgyz nationalists in the poorer south of the country which has grown since ethnic riots killed hundreds in June last year.
The per capita gross domestic product in Kyrgyzstan, at below US$1,000, is less than a 10th of that in oil-rich neighbor Kazakhstan. The economy relies heavily on remittances from migrant workers and the production of a single gold mine.
Atambayev, born in the Russian-leaning north of Kyrgyzstan, is the flag-bearer of reforms set in motion by outgoing leader Roza Otunbayeva.
The reforms have watered down the powers of the president and established parliament as the main decision-making body, changes opposed by Atambayev's main challengers.
With more than 99 percent of ballots counted, pro-business Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev had 63 percent of the vote, an outright majority that avoids the need for a run-off against a potentially strong rival from the south.
A trouble-free election would be the first peaceful transfer of power in the mainly Muslim former Soviet republic, which lies on a drugs route from Afghanistan and hosts both Russian and US military air bases.
Atambayev's two main challengers from a field of 16 each polled just below 15 percent. Both enjoy the support of Kyrgyz nationalists in the poorer south of the country which has grown since ethnic riots killed hundreds in June last year.
The per capita gross domestic product in Kyrgyzstan, at below US$1,000, is less than a 10th of that in oil-rich neighbor Kazakhstan. The economy relies heavily on remittances from migrant workers and the production of a single gold mine.
Atambayev, born in the Russian-leaning north of Kyrgyzstan, is the flag-bearer of reforms set in motion by outgoing leader Roza Otunbayeva.
The reforms have watered down the powers of the president and established parliament as the main decision-making body, changes opposed by Atambayev's main challengers.
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