Kyrgyzstan votes in unpredictable presidential poll

Voters in ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan went to the polls yesterday to choose their next president in an unpredictable election setting the Central Asian country apart from its deeply authoritarian neighbours, while stoking fears of instability.

Voting began at 0200 GMT and will end at 1400 GMT. But after a tough campaign and with the electorate split, a second round of voting is a strong possibility, analysts say.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

On a warm autumn day in the capital Bishkek, voters could be seen happily posing for selfies with both leading candidates -- pro-government Sooronbai Jeenbekov and opposition challenger Omurbek Babanov, an AFP correspondent said.

Around 24 percent of the electorate cast their ballots in the first five hours, official figures showed, with the vote taking place in a festive atmosphere.

But fears of potential unrest and political confrontation have cast a cloud over a ballot.

With pressure growing on oligarch Babanov, security services said Sunday they had arrested a former MP on suspicion of plotting unrest after results are announced.

Although the country is accustomed to political tumult and intrigue, the news still sparked some concern among voters.

"I won't vote today," taxi driver Valeri Kirlilenko told AFP in Bishkek. "I have heard there will be unrest if one or other candidates lose."

The journey from uprisings in 2005 and 2010 to a vote that could secure an unprecedented peaceful transfer of power between two elected presidents has not been easy for the landlocked nation of six million.

President Almazbek Atambayev's six years at the helm of the country, which is dependent on Russia for political support and looks to next-door China for loans and much-needed investment, have been dogged by upheavals and crackdowns.

His own election in 2011 came on the back of political and ethnic violence the year before that left hundreds dead.

Now Atambayev, 61, is stepping down with two main candidates vying to succeed him for a single-term constitutional limit that contrasts sharply with the rule-for-life political culture that exists in neighbouring Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

But he has made it very clear which of the names on the ballot he would like to replace him.

Jeenbekov, 58, a member of the Social Democratic Party Atambayev is most closely associated with, has benefited from favourable coverage in the pro-government media according to monitors.