Voters in Kyrgyzstan cast ballots yesterday for parliamentary runoff elections amid rising tension over whether the Central Asian country's longtime leader might seek to extend his rule beyond constitutional limits.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the first round of voting for the 75-member parliament fell short of international standards, noting instances of vote buying, questionable disqualification of candidates and interference with the media.
"This is the dirtiest election I've seen," Ishenbai Kadyrbekov, a disqualified opposition candidate who has led protests, said yesterday. Only two of the 31 seats filled without a runoff contest in the Feb. 27 vote went to opposition candidates. Of the 44 still-open seats, opposition candidates were contesting about a dozen in Sunday's election. Among the pro-government candidates is President Askar Akayev's daughter, Bermet.
The opposition leader, Kadyrbekov, also accused the West of turning a blind eye on the alleged election violations, saying that could encourage Akayev to circumvent laws and extend his 15-year rule, which ends in October.
Akayev has repeatedly denied he wants another term. He has been in power since 1990 and is not eligible under the constitution to run after serving two consecutive terms.
However, the opposition fears his loyalists are seeking to extend his rule or to hand-pick his successor. A compliant parliament could ease the task, which could require constitutional changes. Fueling the controversy, presidential aide Abdil Seghizbayev accused the opposition of pushing Akayev toward introducing a referendum to confirm his powers, which he hinted could replace a presidential vote slated for October.
"I want to ask the opposition: Do they want their actions to push the president to directly ask the people to confirm his powers for another term?" Seghizbayev said Friday.
Still, Akayev is seen as the most liberal of the veteran leaders in ex-Soviet Central Asia who all have clung to power through dubious legal changes and referendums. His departure in October could create a precedent of democratic transition of power in the region.
A feud has broken out between the top leaders of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on whether to maintain close ties with Russia. The AfD leader Alice Weidel this week slammed planned visits to Russia by some party lawmakers, while coleader Tino Chrupalla voiced a defense of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The unusual split comes at a time when mainstream politicians have accused the anti-immigration AfD of acting as stooges for the Kremlin and even spying for Russia. The row has also erupted in a year in which the AfD is flying high, often polling above the record 20 percent it
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday vowed that those behind bogus flood control projects would be arrested before Christmas, days after deadly back-to-back typhoons left swathes of the country underwater. Scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers — including Marcos’ cousin congressman — have been accused of pocketing funds for substandard or so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects. The Philippine Department of Finance has estimated the nation’s economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos (US$2 billion) since 2023 due to corruption in flood control projects. Criminal cases against most of the people implicated are nearly complete, Marcos told reporters. “We don’t file cases for
Ecuadorans are today to vote on whether to allow the return of foreign military bases and the drafting of a new constitution that could give the country’s president more power. Voters are to decide on the presence of foreign military bases, which have been banned on Ecuadoran soil since 2008. A “yes” vote would likely bring the return of the US military to the Manta air base on the Pacific coast — once a hub for US anti-drug operations. Other questions concern ending public funding for political parties, reducing the number of lawmakers and creating an elected body that would
‘ATTACK ON CIVILIZATION’: The culture ministry released drawings of six missing statues representing the Roman goddess of Venus, the tallest of which was 40cm Investigators believe that the theft of several ancient statues dating back to the Roman era from Syria’s national museum was likely the work of an individual, not an organized gang, officials said on Wednesday. The National Museum of Damascus was closed after the heist was discovered early on Monday. The museum had reopened in January as the country recovers from a 14-year civil war and the fall of the 54-year al-Assad dynasty last year. On Wednesday, a security vehicle was parked outside the main gate of the museum in central Damascus while security guards stood nearby. People were not allowed in because
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