With campaigning season for Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary elections almost over, parties are resorting to all means available to claim as large a share as possible out of the 120 seats up for grabs.
A video was posted online on September 30 showing public officials in the southern town of Kara-Kulzha being coached on how to jubilantly greet a candidate from top parliamentary contender, the Social Democratic Party (SDPK). The video was uploaded by a candidate from the rival Azattyk party, Daiyrbek Orunbekov.
The footage is lending more ammunition to SDPK’s critics, who argue that what are known as “administrative resources” are being deployed to ensure the required result for them on October 4. SDPK is the party of President Almazbek Atambayev and a crushing win for them could assure them the legally allowed maximum number of 65 deputies – enough to form a government without entering into problematic coalitions.
In the video from Kara-Kulzha, a woman from the local administration explains to rows of listeners how to salute and praise parliamentary speaker and SPDK election candidate, Asylbek Jeenbekov. As they go through the motions of the rehearsal, people in the audience stand up, whistle and shout: “Long live SDPK! Hooray!”
SPDK reacted with a swift statement insisting that it was absolutely committed to honest and transparent elections.
“If somebody wants to help the SDPK to win by using administrative resources on a local level, these people are doing the party a bad turn, because none of the party leaders asked them to do this,” the statement said. “And so we propose citizens inform the SDPK (of such occurrences), so that the party can take action against offenders.”
The perpetrators in this particular instance appear more sanguine.
Jeenbu Kebekchieva, a local administration worker in Kara-Kulzha, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kyrgyz service that as she is on vacation at the moment, she is free to campaign for any party she wishes.
“Look at the other parties, who salute their leaders riding on a horseback as they hold a falcon in their hand. Compared to them, our greeting was humble,” Kebekchieva said, adding that all the people in the video were SDPK party members.
This is not the first time charges of abusing administrative resources have been leveled at the SDPK.
On September 18, the Central Election Commission forced Azattyk party to take down billboards which featured a young boy on them, arguing that using images of children was a violation of election rules.
Meanwhile, the use of photographs of children in SDPK billboards was not publicly admonished by election authorities. Within a few days, the billboards came down and were replaced by new ones reading: “Let’s support the country! Let’s support the president!” Azattyk party took exception to that slogan, but their protestations were summarily dismissed.
In another episode from September 26, a live prime-time election debate on a state broadcaster was followed by a report accusing SPDK rivals of trying to buy votes.
The primary targets for criticism were Ata-Meken, Bir Bol and Respublika-Ata Jurt — all parties believed to have good prospects of entering parliament and potentially robbing SDPK of a flat-out majority.
SDPK was conspicuously absent from the segment. The following report, however, showed Atambayev making a speech to Soviet-style applause during a working visit to Issyk-Kul.
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