Polls closed today in Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary elections. The results are expected tomorrow, according to VOA News, but one opposition leader is already alleging violations of election regulations.

The Institute for War and Peace Reporting says protests about the integrity of the election process began about one week ago in Talas where “supporters of parliamentary hopeful Ravshan Jeenbekov demonstrated outside a local court house to protest the revoking of his registration. The decision was eventually reversed so that Jeenbekov was able to stand.”

Also in Talas, “followers of candidate Bolotbek Sherniyazov gathered to protest interference by the local electricity company, which promised to wipe out unpaid electricity bills for voters who backed Sherniyazov’s rival, ex-speaker of parliament Altai Borubaev.”

According to this article, the U.S. supports the opposition despite President Askar Akaev’s assistance in the War on Terror. Specifically, Akaev’s government let U.S. planes fly thorough Krygyzstan’s airspace and allowed us to use one of its military bases during our operations in Afghanistan.

The best election round-up I’ve seen is at a blog called Registan.net. Other bloggers covering the story include Gateway Pundit, Publius Pundit, and Transition Trends.

(Hat tip: Gateway Pundit.)

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