Presidential election in Kyrgyzstan 2005

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Election winner Kurmanbek Bakiev

The 2005 presidential election in Kyrgyzstan was held on July 10, 2005 in Kyrgyzstan . The presidential election served to elect the successor to long-time President Askar Akayev , who had to resign from his post in the wake of the tulip revolution . Kurmanbek Bakiyev became the election winner and the new president of the country .

background

Since the presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan in 1991 , Askar Akayev was president of the young state of Kyrgyzstan. After initial tendencies towards democratization , Akayev established an increasingly authoritarian rule during the years of his presidency and strengthened the president's position of power compared to parliament. After a constitutional referendum in February 2003, it was decided to convert the Jogorku Kengesch , the Kyrgyz parliament, from a two-chamber system to a one-chamber system . The first subsequent parliamentary elections took place in February 2005 and were the catalyst for the tulip revolution . The opposition organized joint protests and demonstrations against President Akayev after numerous irregularities in the 2005 general election were uncovered. After the protests had spread from the capital Bishkek to many other regions of the country, Akayev fled to Russia on March 24, 2005 . Immediately thereafter, the parliament elected Kurmanbek Bakiyev , one of the leaders of the opposition movement, as interim president, who set up a transitional government until the next presidential election. On April 7, President Akayev officially submitted his resignation from the office of President, which was accepted by Parliament on April 11. As a result of the president's escape and the collapse of the government, opposition leader Felix Kulow was released from custody and all charges against him dropped. Parliament scheduled the necessary presidential elections for July 10th.

The tulip revolution in Kyrgyzstan in the context of the so-called color revolutions

Electoral system

The Kyrgyz suffrage was subject to constant change in the years before the election. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) praised the reforms carried out in recent years, but emphasized that further adjustments to the electoral law are necessary in order to fully meet democratic criteria. With regard to the presidential election, the Kyrgyz constitution provides for majority voting. If none of the candidates in the first candidate succeeds in gaining an absolute majority of the votes cast, a runoff election between the two most successful candidates in the first ballot is planned. In addition, the election is only valid if the voter turnout is 50%, otherwise it must be repeated at another time. The winner of the presidential election is legitimized as President of Kyrgyzstan for five years. To register as a candidate for the 2005 presidential election, the signatures of 50,000 Kyrgyzstan voters and a successfully completed Kyrgyz language test were required. The required number of signatures thus corresponded to just under 1.9% of those eligible to vote and was described by observers as comparatively high. In addition to the candidates, the voting slip also included the option of rejecting all candidates.

organization

The Central Election Commission was primarily responsible for organizing the election. This consists of a chairman and 12 members, half of whom are nominated by parliament and half by the president. On April 11, 2005, interim president Bakiyev filled the chairmanship of the Central Electoral Commission with Tuygunaaly Abdraimov, who had previously been a member of the commission. The Central Election Commission organized the elections at home and abroad, where there was an opportunity to take part in the presidential election in 38 polling stations. The work of the commission was in parts perceived as not transparent and inefficient, but contributed to the orderly process of the election. The Central Election Commission was supported by other election commissions at regional and municipal level. With regard to the organization of the election, the quality of the electoral roll was improved, the poor quality of which caused irregularities in previous elections.

Candidates

Based on the requirements for registering candidates, in particular the required number of signatures, the central electoral commission announced the candidates for the presidential election in two communications dated June 11 and June 13. A total of seven candidates were therefore eligible for election:

With Toktayym Umetalieva there was also a female candidate for election, which was a first in Kyrgyzstan. In the meantime, Tursunbay Bakir uulu was running for the second time as a presidential candidate after being clearly defeated by 0.98% of the votes cast in the 2000 presidential election in Kyrgyzstan, compared to the winner, Askar Akayev . With the withdrawal of Sharipov's candidacy on June 23, the number of candidates before the election was reduced to six. The rejection of Urmatbek Baryktabasov's candidacy on the grounds that he was a citizen of Kazakhstan caused controversy . The candidate's supporters denied this and protested against the decision of the Central Election Commission. The alliance between Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Felix Kulow, who were among the most important leaders of the opposition to ex-President Akayev, was of great political importance. On May 12, the two politicians signed an agreement that contained Kulov's renouncement of his own presidential candidacy. In return, Bakiyev guaranteed to appoint Kulov as prime minister if he won the election. The main aim of this agreement was to maintain stability in Kyrgyzstan, as this prevented the opposition movement from splitting into two camps. In addition, the alliance represented an important development against the background of Kyrgyzstan's policy, which continues to be strongly rooted in the region, as Bakiyev had his supporters mainly in the south of the country, while Kulov was more strongly represented in the north. At the same time, the alliance of the two favored candidates for the presidential election meant a weakening of political competition in the run-up to the election and put Bakiyev in a clear favorite position with regard to the upcoming elections.

Election campaign

Before the election, a lively election campaign developed, which stood out strongly from the conditions in Kyrgyzstan’s neighboring Central Asian countries by maintaining freedom of assembly and freedom of expression . On June 6th, interim president Bakiyev declared in a televised address that the use of state resources for the election campaign was not allowed and thus contributed to equal opportunities in the election campaign. Even so, Bakiyev's campaign was the best financed and organized. Numerous election campaign events, better logistical possibilities, a visible and broad-based media campaign and a strong regional presence in all parts of the country set Bakiyev's election campaign apart from that of the other candidates. Owing to their lower popularity, these often had only less active supporters and very limited financial resources. The media, and especially television, were central to the campaign. All candidates were promised airtime on state television, and there were television duels between the candidates. Only three debates were held between two candidates each, and finally a debate with all six candidates was to be broadcast on July 8, but Bakiyev, among others, stayed away. Overall, Bakiyev was by far the most present in the country's media when compared to the candidates. This was due to his position as interim president and his high profile in the country. These factors underpinned Bakiyev's favorite position before the election. All printed campaign material had to be submitted to the Central Election Commission for approval prior to publication. This process was particularly criticized by the candidate Tursunbay Bakir uulu, as the electoral commission demanded the adaptation of individual election posters Bakir uulus. The latter then criticized the unequal treatment of the candidates by the Central Electoral Commission in favor of Bakiyev.

Result

The official election result was announced on July 13 by the Central Election Commission and confirmed by the Kyrgyz Constitutional Court on July 16. Kurmanbek Bakiev, who was able to live up to his role as a favorite, was elected winner. None of the other candidates achieved more than 4% of the votes cast. With an official voter turnout of 74%, the mandatory voter turnout of at least 50% was clearly achieved, so that the result of the election is valid.

candidate votes received Share of votes cast
Kurmanbek Bakiev 1,776,156 88.72%
Tursunbay Bakir uulu 78,701 3.93%
Akbaraly Aitikeev 72,604 3.63%
Jypar Jeksheev 18,166 0.91%
Toktayym Umetalieva 10,445 0.52%
Keneshbek Dushebaev 10,253 0.51%
against all candidates 18,197 0.91%
invalid votes 17,456 0.87%
total 2,001,978 100%
voter turnout - 74%

consequences

In August 2005, Kurmanbek Bakiyev was sworn in as the second president of independent Kyrgyzstan after Askar Akayev . In accordance with the agreement with Felix Kulov, he was appointed Prime Minister by the President in the same month. The new government around Bakiyev and Kulow experienced its first crisis as early as February 2006, when parliamentary president Ömürbek Tekebajew switched to the opposition after a falling out with Bakiyev and then became one of the most important political opponents of President Bajiew. After mass protests in the spring of 2006, Bakiyev signed a new constitution in November 2006 that restricted the president's power. On December 19, the entire cabinet around Felix Kulov resigned. Bakiyev's attempt to reinstall Kulov as prime minister failed due to opposition from parliament, which elected the compromise candidate Asim Issabekov as the new prime minister in January 2007. But after a few weeks he was replaced in this office by the opposition politician Almasbek Atambayev . In the years that followed, attempts by President Bakiyev to expand his power and strengthen his role vis-à-vis parliament repeatedly sparked protests, which ultimately resulted in Bakiyev's removal in 2010.

rating

The elections were closely monitored by both Kyrgyz and foreign observers, and the overall outcome was positive. On the Kyrgyz side, several non-governmental organizations formed an alliance for fair elections and sent numerous observers to the polling stations. Overall, Kyrgyz observers were present at the majority of the polling stations during the election process and when the votes were counted. Numerous foreign observers were also present, including an OSCE observer mission. The OSCE observers rated the elections in a large majority of the polling stations as good to very good, although there were isolated cases of significant irregularities. Among other things, the officially stated voter turnout was strongly doubted by observers in individual constituencies. The process of the counting was criticized by the OSCE observers as not being transparent. In the aftermath of the election, the OSCE observers recommended, among other things, reducing the number of signatures required for a candidacy, setting up additional polling stations and further strengthening the electoral register.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw November 7, 2005, p. 3 .
  2. ↑ KYRGYZSTAN ELECTIONS HELD IN 2005. Accessed April 20, 2020 .
  3. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw November 7, 2005, p. 5 .
  4. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw November 7, 2005, p. 6-10 .
  5. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw November 7, 2005, p. 9 .
  6. ↑ a b IFES Election Guide | Elections: Kyrgyzstan Presidential July 10 2005. Retrieved April 21, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Jim Nichol: Coup in Kyrgyzstan: Developments and Implications . Ed .: Congressional Research Service. Washington DC April 14, 2005.
  8. ↑ a b Kusein Isaev: Peculiarities and results of elections in 2005 in Kyrgyzstan . Seville March 2006.
  9. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw November 7, 2005, p. 12-17 .
  10. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw November 7, 2005, p. 23 .
  11. ^ Kyrgyzstan profile . In: BBC News . February 26, 2018 ( bbc.com [accessed April 23, 2020]).
  12. ↑ Kyrgyz Parliament Rejects Kulov nomination. Retrieved April 23, 2020 (English).
  13. ↑ OSCE (ed.): OSCE / ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report . 1st edition. Warsaw November 7, 2005, p. 24-26 .