Kyrgyzstan presidential elections end in country's first peaceful transfer of power

[Griff]

[t]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Kyrgyzstan_2017.png/800px-Kyrgyzstan_2017.png[/t]
[QUOTE]Omurbek Babanov, who lost Kyrgyzstan's bitterly-fought presidential election to Sooronbai Jeenbekov, on Monday seemed willing to accept the result without challenge, paving the way for the republic's first peaceful transfer of power.

Jeenbekov is to become the fifth president of Kyrgyzstan after winning more than 54 percent of Sunday's vote to replace outgoing leader Almazbek Atambayev.

The 58-year-old, Atambayev's preferred successor, was running against 10 other candidates, but his main challenger was Babanov, a 47-year-old former oil trader.

"In these elections, I got a place which I was given," Babanov, who won more than 33 percent of the vote, told reporters on Monday.

"We showed that in Kyrgyzstan, you can and should go and vote. Time will tell who was right and who was wrong," he added, asking his supporters "not to respond to provocations".

Babanov's comments came as European poll observers said vote-buying and significant procedural problems marred the vote, though they praised the move towards an orderly transfer of power.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe described the election in the Central Asian former Soviet republic as "competitive", but said that "pressure on voters and vote-buying remain a concern."

The mission's statement mentioned "numerous and significant procedural problems" during the vote count and initial stages of tabulation. But it said the election had "contributed to the strengthening of democratic institutions by providing for an orderly transfer of power".[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]Atambayev, who developed particularly close ties with Russia during his six years in office, dismissed Western criticism as biased.

"Of course, they would be singing praise if a pro-American candidate won the election," Kyrgyz news website 24.kg quoted him as telling foreign diplomats in a meeting on Monday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday became the first foreign leader to congratulate Jeenbekov on his victory.

Jeenbekov thanked opponents for making the elections "competitive" during a speech at his campaign headquarters on Sunday night.[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/kyrgyzstan-eyes-peaceful-transfer-power-poll-171016163445808.html[/url]
[URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyz_presidential_election,_2017"]Wiki article[/URL]

[Sableye]

Didn't rig them enough did he?

Still, a welcome sight in the middle of the very authoritarian east

[ThePinkPanzer]

[QUOTE=Sableye;52790218]Didn't rig them enough did he?[/QUOTE]

The Social Democrats were pretty central in the Tulip Revolution and have been big proponents for free elections for a while so he probably didn't at all. He only won 54%.

[editline]18th October 2017[/editline]

Unless you mean Babanov. Then probably yeah.