Update: Kyrgyz PM takes the reign, protests ongoing

[PSOL]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/06/kyrgyzstan-election-result-declared-invalid-after-mass-protests

The central election commission of Kyrgyzstan has declared the results of the weekend’s parliamentary election invalid after mass protests erupted in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, and other cities.

Opposition supporters had seized government buildings overnight, freed the ex-president from jail and demanded a new election. Hundreds of people were hurt and one person died.

The decision was made in order to “avoid tension” in the country, the head of the commission, Nurzhan Shaildabekova, told the Interfax news agency.

Democracy can’t defend itself, it must be fought for.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Super interesting time to be a Eurasia watcher.

Important details (I don't know a lot about the situation, but I scanned a few articles form the major trusted sources stateside):
1) Only four parties from several made the threshold of 7% to be admitted to parliament; the top two vote-getters are seen as linked to President Jeenbekov.
2) A member of the opposition has declared himself acting Interior Minister after the official Interior Minister didn't show up to work.
3) Former president Atambayev has been freed from prison. He was in power 2011-2017 and was jailed on corruption charges after leaving office (Editors Note: This was a source of great drama as it involved an armed standoff between the authorities and Atambayev allies and is believed to have centered around a contest for power between the sitting and former president - having a politically active former president is somewhat of a rarity in the post-Soviet space outside the Baltics).
4) The geopolitical implications appear murky. I haven't followed Kyrgyzstan in its current state very intensely, but both Atambayev and Jeenbekov are generally seen as aligned with Russia (America's basing was ended in 2014). The major news sources don't mentioned geopolitical orientations of the opposition, and I'm guessing this is because such is not seen as a top-priority issue (apparently even the opposition in Belarus hasn't really bothered to "poke the bear" on foreign policy issues, which would appear to follow Armenia's example).

[NewYorkExpress]

Probably not going to happen, but what are the odds Russia or China gets involved here to support their preferred candidate?

[PSOL]

Probably not going to happen, but what are the odds Russia or China gets involved here to support their preferred candidate?

Nothing overt will happen, and so far they want “peace and order”.

Right now the election results got nullified, so most likely there will be another election to avoid another revolution.

[Saruku]

I'm sure that when Kyrgyzstan gets you radlibs' beloved bourgeois democracy, it'll be a socialist paradise, not a reactionary cesspool subservient to American imperial interests and used as an unsinkable aircraft carrier against China.

[PSOL]

I'm sure that when Kyrgyzstan gets you radlibs' beloved bourgeois democracy, it'll be a socialist paradise, not a reactionary cesspool subservient to American imperial interests and used as an unsinkable aircraft carrier against China.

The main people protesting are the leftmost social democratic parties.

Edit: now I’m not saying this could not be a color revolution, but I extremely doubt it at this point

Edit: You know, I may be incredibly wrong..:

[CumbrianLefty]

I'm sure that when Kyrgyzstan gets you radlibs' beloved bourgeois democracy, it'll be a socialist paradise, not a reactionary cesspool subservient to American imperial interests and used as an unsinkable aircraft carrier against China.

Ah, spot a genuine tankie time?

[jaymichaud]

I'm sure that when Kyrgyzstan gets you radlibs' beloved bourgeois democracy, it'll be a socialist paradise, not a reactionary cesspool subservient to American imperial interests and used as an unsinkable aircraft carrier against China.

Boring

[Damocles]

I'm sure that when Kyrgyzstan gets you radlibs' beloved bourgeois democracy, it'll be a socialist paradise, not a reactionary cesspool subservient to American imperial interests and used as an unsinkable aircraft carrier against China.

Worst bait, I give it a 10/1917.

[Ⓐnarchy in the ☭☭☭P!]

And after all that Kyrgyzstan is still easily the most democratic and close to the most peaceful of the Central Asian countries. Belarussians could learn a thing or two.

[CumbrianLefty]

And after all that Kyrgyzstan is still easily the most democratic and close to the most peaceful of the Central Asian countries. Belarussians could learn a thing or two.

The main thing for them to learn, tbf, is "I wouldn't start from here".

[PSOL]

Opposition is quarreling among themselves as the President deploys the military

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/10/world/asia/kidnapper-kyrgyzstan-prime-minister.html

A man who had been convicted of kidnapping was chosen to be the prime minister of Kyrgyzstan on Saturday after feuding politicians agreed on a new government in an effort to end nearly a week of violent turmoil in the Central Asian country.

An agreement to put the government under the man, Sadyr Japarov, who was sprung from jail this past week by anti-government protesters, should help calm street violence. But it stirred alarm in some quarters that criminal elements had prevailed in a power struggle set off by disputed parliamentary election results last Sunday.


....

Arkady Dubnov, a Central Asia expert in Moscow, said the new prime minister, Mr. Japarov, who just days ago was serving an 11-and-half-year sentence for organizing the 2013 kidnapping of a regional governor, had prevailed “because his supporters turned out to be the strongest.”



It was unclear whether he would serve a full term or be forced to step down once new parliamentary elections are held to replace last week’s annulled vote.

Mr. Japarov, a former member of Parliament for a nationalist party, has insisted that the kidnapping charges against him were politically motivated, a plausible claim in a country where each successive government often jails members of the previous one. Among those freed from prison this past week by protesters were a former president, Almazbek Atambayev, serving an 11-year-sentence for corruption, and two former prime ministers.

[CumbrianLefty]

So all seems clear as mud, then.

[PSOL]

The President has stepped down

[kelestian]

So national-populist Sadyr Japarov, a convicted felon just a month ago, is now both acting president and prime-minister. Don't really know if this can be called a coup - Japarov's supporters just were the loudest and the strongest one among all mobs in Bishkek.

[PSOL]

So national-populist Sadyr Japarov, a convicted felon just a month ago, is now both acting president and prime-minister. Don't really know if this can be called a coup - Japarov's supporters just were the loudest and the strongest one among all mobs in Bishkek.

Yep, I’m actually not a fan of this route being taken compared to the other factions. I do hope that the protests keep on going to get the better social democrats in power.

[kelestian]

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/how-kyrgyz-social-media-backed-an-imprisoned-politicians-meteoric-rise-to-power/
Interesting article on the topic. I like in previous years, Japarov has supporters in all region, in south as in the north, but this time its russian-speaking urbanites (Who are not fans of his style) / kyrgyz-speaking rurals (Japarov is cult figure in Kyrgyz-speaking part of Internet)