Lawlessness Grows in Kyrgyzstan as Presidential Election Looms

Lawlessness and political confusion are building in Kyrgyzstan as the Central Asian nation prepares for a special presidential election.

In the latest spasm of violence, a riot in the southern city of Osh left at least two people injured on June 13. The trouble began when a group of several hundred men armed with clubs and other weapons gathered outside a hotel, located in central Osh, belonging to Bayaman Erkinbayev, a local businessman who is also a member of parliament. When the mob tried to storm the hotel, security guards opened fire. Local authorities were still trying to firmly establish the motive for the attack. Political analysts in Bishkek say Erkinbayev is widely suspected of involvement in illicit business activity in southern Kyrgyzstan, adding that the incident could have criminal connections. Erkinbayev was slightly wounded during a late April assassination attempt.

The Osh riot is just one of several incidents with possible political overtones in recent days. On June 11, thugs attacked the campaign offices of interim president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who is widely expected to win the special election on July 10. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Two guards at the campaign office were severely beaten during the incident.

On June 10, two gunmen killed MP Jyrgalbek Surabaldiyev in broad daylight in central Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital. Surabaldiyev was known as a political ally of former president Askar Akayev, who fled the country on March 24 amid revolutionary upheaval. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Some political analysts suggest that Surabaldiyev, an entrepreneur with wide-ranging interests in business ventures, may have played a role in stoking the looting that engulfed Bishkek immediately after Akayev's departure from power, aiming to discredit the provisional government. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The two gunmen, after killing Surabaldiyev and wounding his driver, got into a car and managed to elude police. The Kyrgyz parliament authorized the country's National Security Service (NSS) to handle the assassination investigation. On the day of the killing, NSS head Tashtemir Aitbayev suggested that the incident appeared to be a "struggle for control among gangsters." The NSS declined to disclose information concerning the investigation, the AKIpress news agency reported June 13.

Following Surabaldiyev's murder, MPs voiced concerns about security conditions in the country. Parliament speaker Omurbek Tekebayev, for example, declared that the "bullets shot at Surabaldiyev were bullets shot at all [members of parliament]." Aitbayev, the NSS chief, vowed that the killers would be brought to justice "for the sake of every law enforcement official who wears the uniform."

The violent episodes inject additional tension into what is shaping up as a tumultuous special presidential election. The deadline for registration of presidential candidates came on June 13, and Kyrgyzstan's Central Election Commission (CEC) cleared seven candidates, including Bakiyev, to compete in the campaign. In all 13 politicians sought to contest the election, but the CEC disqualified six, mainly for failing to submit the necessary number of petition signatures to be placed on the ballot. One aspiring candidate, Urmat Baryktabasov, was disqualified after the CEC determined he held Kazakhstani citizenship.

It appears as though rough-and-tumble political conditions could prevail right up through election day, and beyond. Several of the CEC-approved presidential candidates failed to show up at a ceremony June 13 to sign an OSCE-sponsored agreement designed to ensure a clean and fairly fought election. Bakiyev was among the three candidates who signed the fair-election pledge. Four presidential candidates – Tursunbai Bakir-uulu, Keneshbek Duishebayev, Zhypar Zheksheyev and Zhusypbek Sharipov – "did not arrive [at the signing ceremony] for a variety of reasons, including a specific desire to ignore the gathering," AKIpress reported.

Meanwhile, political jockeying between members of the legislative and executive branches appears to intensifying. Some MPs have accused the NSS of conducting surveillance operations against legislators who have been critical of the provisional government's performance. Other legislators have launched a drive to force the resignation of Usen Sydykov, who serves as Bakiyev's acting chief of presidential staff. Some legislators accuse Sydykov of improper conduct, adding that his management style has helped stoke domestic political tension.