Voters in the Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan took to the polls yesterday for a parliamentary election that the authorities say will bring much-needed stability, but which the opposition has already criticized.
Twelve political parties were taking part in the race for the 90 seats in the parliament, with Kyrgyzstan President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's newly-created Ak-Zhol party the firm favorite to win the vote.
"I am certain the new parliament will be better than the last," Bakiyev told reporters. "I congratulate all Kyrgyz on this great occasion .... It is an historic day."
The early elections were called by Bakiyev as this impoverished former Soviet republic located on China's western edge continues to experience aftershocks from a 2005 popular uprising.
Opposition forces have denounced pressure from the authorities, including two opposition leaders being kept off the ballot and a lawsuit launched against one of the main opposition parties.
Several opposition activists have also been beaten during the campaign.
Yesterday's vote was necessitated by constitutional changes approved in October that were supposed to ease relations between Bakiyev and his detractors in parliament by increasing the powers of the legislature.
"These elections are a chance to calm the Kyrgyz political process ... Since 2005 Bakiyev has found himself overseeing a serious battle between the elites," said analyst Sergei Masaulov of the Perspective research center.
Some voters, like 59-year-old professor Piotr Sivosin, were ready to support Bakiyev's party in the hope it will end the political turmoil.
"Me, I'm for Ak-Zhol, for Bakiyev's party controlling the parliament. Then the situation will calm down and the government will begin to work on the economy," he said at a Bishkek polling station. "I'm fed up with the instability, the elections and demonstrations."
But 42-year-old taxi driver Zanir Sidikov was unhappy at how the election campaign had unfolded.
"The president's Ak-Zhol party irritates me in how it is forcing people to for him, and in the spirit of contradiction, I'm going to vote for the opposition," he said.
While this mountainous state lies far from the rich world, major powers have an interest in the country's course as Kyrgyzstan is a vital link in a wider struggle for influence in mainly Muslim, resource-rich Central Asia.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of