Kyrgyzstan’s leader says he’s quitting amid unrest
MOSCOW — Kyrgyzstan’s embattled President Sooronbai Jennbekov said Thursday he was resigning following protests over a disputed parliamentary election, the third time in 15 years that a leader of the Central Asian country has been ousted by a popular uprising.
Supporters of Jennbekov’s rival, newly appointed Prime Minister Sadyr Zhaparov, rallied in the capital of Bishkek and threatened to storm government buildings if he is not elevated to acting president. Under the constitution, the speaker of parliament would be next in line, but he refused to serve as caretaker leader, according to Zhaparov, who claimed the top office.
The fast-moving events capped a government crisis that was dizzying even by the standards of Kyrgyzstan’s chaotic, clan-influenced politics.
The resignations of the president and the parliament speaker’s apparent refusal to succeed him followed unrest that gripped the country of 6.5 million residents on the border with China since the Oct. 4 parliamentary election that was swept by pro-government parties.
Supporters of opposition groups dismissed the results, pointing at vote-buying and other irregularities, and took over government buildings hours after the polls closed. The protesters freed several opposition leaders, including Zhaparov, who was serving an 11-year jail term.
The Central Election Commission nullified the election results and rival regional clans begun jockeying for power.
Jeenbekov, who had introduced a state of emergency in Bishkek and deployed troops in the capital, dismissed calls to resign on Wednesday. But in a statement released Thursday by his office, he said that he feared violence if he stayed in power.