Fri 09 October 2020:
The protests have forced mass resignations that included the prime minister, the cabinet and several governors and mayors leaving a political vacuum
Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov is ready to resign in a bid to end post-vote chaos enveloping the Central Asian country, he said in an address published Friday on his website.
The disputed vote has sparked a fresh crisis in the volatile Central Asian country, triggering protests and unrest that have left at least one person dead and hundreds injured. The results of the Sunday’s elections have since been annulled but the protests have continued.
The protests have forced mass resignations that included the prime minister, the cabinet and several governors and mayors leaving a political vacuum.
Jeenbekov, who has rules Kyrgyzstan since 2017, said in an address published on the presidential website he could resign once a date for fresh elections had been set and changes in government had been confirmed by parliament and his office.
“We need to get the situation back to the rule of law as soon as possible. After legitimate executive authorities have been approved and we are back on the path of lawfulness, I am ready to leave the post of President of the Kyrgyz Republic.”
The statement comes just hours after Jeenbekov’s press chief said the president’s resignation was not “under question” in talks he was holding with national political leaders.
Opposition parties claim Sunday’s election was rigged by significant vote-buying in favour of parties close to Jeenbekov.
The results of the ballot were annulled on Tuesday, but that has done little to ease tensions as rival politicians and their supporters press claims to leadership posts and state institutions are in chaos.
Omurbek Suvanaliyev, who has claimed the title of national security chief in the aftermath of clashes between police and protesters, told Russian news agency Interfax that national borders had been closed.
The border service confirmed the closure to the AFP news agency.
Suvanaliyev is one of several politicians who claimed titles after a rally against election results turned violent and protesters seized the main seat of government.
