BISHKEK (AFX) - The ex-Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan held parliamentary polls on Sunday seen as a test of democratic progress in the small Central Asian state, with nascent opposition groups dismissing President Askar Akayev's assurance that voting would be free and fair.
Early turnout figures in the elections to the 75-seat single-chamber parliament suggested a lack of enthusiasm, reaching 48.2 pct four hours ahead of polls closing, with many voters voicing disillusionment at Akayev's administration.
"All profitable sectors in our country are controlled by the president's family or Akayev's circle," said Sergei, a businessman who said he had voted against Akayev's daughter Bermet in the Bishkek university constituency she was contesting.
An exit poll by the Association for the Protection of Voters' Rights gave Akayeva 45 percent of the constituency's vote five hours into the election.
Kyrgyz officials had warned against the "virus" of Western-backed unrest, following the ouster of the ex-Soviet regimes in Georgia and Ukraine.
The foreign ministry on Sunday accused the US ambassador to the country of "unacceptable interference", after he warned that widespread irregularities could damage Kyrgyzstan's relations with the West.
Washington, which uses a Kyrgyz airbase for operations in nearby Afghanistan, has spent around 600,000 dollars (460,000 euros) on promoting fairer polls.
tol-njc/ec/ab
For more information and to contact AFX: www.afxnews.com and www.afxpress.com
Early turnout figures in the elections to the 75-seat single-chamber parliament suggested a lack of enthusiasm, reaching 48.2 pct four hours ahead of polls closing, with many voters voicing disillusionment at Akayev's administration.
"All profitable sectors in our country are controlled by the president's family or Akayev's circle," said Sergei, a businessman who said he had voted against Akayev's daughter Bermet in the Bishkek university constituency she was contesting.
An exit poll by the Association for the Protection of Voters' Rights gave Akayeva 45 percent of the constituency's vote five hours into the election.
Kyrgyz officials had warned against the "virus" of Western-backed unrest, following the ouster of the ex-Soviet regimes in Georgia and Ukraine.
The foreign ministry on Sunday accused the US ambassador to the country of "unacceptable interference", after he warned that widespread irregularities could damage Kyrgyzstan's relations with the West.
Washington, which uses a Kyrgyz airbase for operations in nearby Afghanistan, has spent around 600,000 dollars (460,000 euros) on promoting fairer polls.
tol-njc/ec/ab
For more information and to contact AFX: www.afxnews.com and www.afxpress.com
© 2005 AFX News
