Bishkek, October 14, 2010
Current Overview
Parliamentary elections
- On October 10, Kyrgyzstan held elections that created the first parliamentary democracy in Central Asia. As announced by the Central Election Commission (http://cec.shailoo.gov.kg/ielection. asp?ElectionID=137&DistrictID), the turnout was 59.9% for the whole country. Opposition party Ata-Zhurt, headed by former officials of ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev's government, won the election with 8.89% of the vote. However, four other parties also cleared the 5% threshold to gain seats in the national parliament.
- Under the new charter, President Otunbayeva will remain acting president until December 31, 2011. Parliamentary elections will take place every five years. No political party will be allowed more than 65 of the 120 parliamentary seats. The president will be limited to a single six-year term, with greatly reduced powers.
Security
- While rumours continued, the situation remained calm in the last weeks. Violent incidents were expected for the day of Eid, but did not materialise. According to UN, the election period, October 8-12, was a critical period in terms of security but no violence was observed.
- The border to Uzbekistan is closed to Kyrgyz and Uzbek people. The border to Tajikistan remains open.
- On October 6, around 50 relatives of people killed during the April events attacked the office of the Ata-Zhurt party in Bishkek, where they seized campaign materials and documents and burnt them in front of the office, saying their protest was against an Ata-Zhurt leader.
General needs and damage
- The Kyrgyz health ministry reported on October 6 that officially 408 people were killed in the June events.
- Education: Schools resumed from September 1and children have started attending.
- Employment: More than 20,000 work places were destroyed in the south of Kyrgyzstan due to the June ethnic clashes.
- Food: The European Food Safety Authority found that 27% of Kyrgyz households nationwide are 'food insecure'- 23% moderately and 4% severely. The prevalence of severe food insecurity is suspected to be underestimated as the assessment was carried out at when food was more readily available. It is expected to worsen during the winter months.