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Kyrgyzstan counts votes after landmark election

by (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. Click For Restrictions. http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Monday, 11 October 2010 04:54 GMT

* Vote to create first C. Asian parliamentary democracy

* Election mainly transparent, some reports of fraud

* Ata Zhurt party leads with 88 pct of votes counted

By Robin Paxton

BISHKEK, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan counted votes on Monday to establish the first parliamentary democracy in Central Asia, a region dominated by post-Soviet strongmen, four months after the worst bloodshed in the country&${esc.hash}39;s modern history.

Ata Zhurt, a party with strong support among ethnic Kyrgyz in the south of the country, held a narrow lead with 88 percent of votes counted from Sunday&${esc.hash}39;s polls, the Central Election Commission said.

The landmark election passed without violence and only minor reports of fraud. More than half of the electorate cast their ballots.

"We have not known such elections for the last two decades," President Roza Otunbayeva said in a televised address. "We can be proud of the fact that these elections were completely different to those we have seen before."

After nearly 20 years of failed authoritarian rule since the collapse of the Soviet Union, interim leaders want to empower a prime minister to bridge political and ethnic rifts in the country, where more than 400 people were killed in June clashes.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ For FACTBOX on the Kyrgyzstan election: [ID:nLDE698043] For FACTBOX on political risk in Kyrgyzstan: [ID:nRISKKG] For further stories on the election, click on [ID:nLDE6951VF] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

The United States, which operates a military air base in the country to support the war in Afghanistan, has vocally embraced the plan to create the region&${esc.hash}39;s first parliamentary democracy.

Russia, which also has an air base in Kyrgyzstan, is an opponent of the parliamentary model, arguing it could expose the country to more violence or a power grab by Islamist militants as rival factions vie for influence.

Unique among elections in central Asia, a former Soviet region dominated by presidential strongmen, the vote is pinning hopes on parties jostling for enough parliamentary seats to pick a prime minister.

With 29 parties on the ballot, politicians predict coalition-building will be needed to forge a parliamentary majority with the right to select a prime minister.

Ata Zhurt had 8.6 percent of the vote as of 1000 local time (0400 GMT). The Social-Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan, led by Almazbek Atambayev, was a close second with 8.0 percent.

Third, with 7.1 percent, was the Ar-Namys party of former prime minister Felix Kulov, who has campaigned on a platform of close relations with Russia and won many votes among ethnic Uzbeks in the southern city of Osh, epicentre of the June violence. [ID:nLDE69909X]

"This is the first time that the Kyrgyz people have tasted democracy," said Chynybai Tursunbekov, candidate for the Social-Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan. "There were practically no breaches of the rules, so the results should be honest and objective."

Critics of the vote say the threat of violence persists, particularly if parties believe they have been excluded from the new parliament or should criminal groups want to foment unrest.

Turnout was 57 percent nationwide, the Commission said. The biggest turnout, 66 percent, was in Osh. (Additional reporting by Olga Dzyubenko in Bishkek; editing by David Stamp)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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