Ariddia
16-12-2007, 17:45
Voters in Kyrgyzstan are going to the polls to choose new MPs in a general election that could bring to an end two years of political upheaval.
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev called the vote after overhauling the constitution and launching his own party, Ak Zhol, which has been widely tipped to win.
Critics say the poll and constitutional changes are a power-grab and accuse him of moving towards authoritarianism.
His supporters argue that the new system is fairer and more democratic.
[...] The election is the first parliamentary vote since 2005, when allegations of a rigged ballot led to mass protests that drove President Askar Akayev from power.
[...] Almazbek Atambayev, leader of the Social Democratic Party, which is expected to be the main opposition, said there would "certainly be fraud".
"We will not watch idly in case of lawlessness... a number of parties are preparing protests," he said.
But the president has pledged that "all will be honest" with the vote in the former Soviet republic, which has a reputation for being the most politically open country in the Central Asia region.
Kyrgyzstan has suffered political upheaval since 2005, when Mr Akayev fled to Russia.
Mr Bakiyev led the street protests against Mr Akayev, but he has suffered growing unrest during his own period in office.
Claims of cronyism and of failure to fight corruption led to mass protests in the streets of the capital, Bishkek, earlier this year.
(link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7145133.stm))
Voters in Kyrgyzstan took to the polls Sunday in parliamentary elections that authorities say will bring stability to the Central Asian state but which the opposition says are being rigged.
Twelve political parties were competing for the 90 seats in the Zhogorku Kenesh, the former Soviet republic's legislature, in the first parliamentary elections since irregularities in 2005's vote sparked a revolution.
Polling booths closed at 8:00 pm (1400 GMT), with the country's electoral commission saying the first results would be announced Monday morning.
[...] The elections were being closely watched by outside powers, not least because Kyrgyzstan hosts a US air base set up in 2001 to aid operations in Afghanistan, as well as a Russian air base set up in 2003.
This impoverished country on China's western edge is still in turmoil after the 2005 uprising which saw its first post-Soviet leader Askar Akayev ousted by angry mobs who took over the presidential palace.
Months of street protests followed and three members of parliament were assassinated. Bakiyev and the outgoing parliament have been frequently locked in bitter disputes.
The vote on Sunday was prompted by constitutional changes approved in October that were supposed to ease relations between Bakiyev and his detractors in parliament by increasing the powers of the legislature.
In the voting on Sunday, non-governmental organisations and political parties said they had registered dozens of violations, including multiple voting and various forms of bribes offered to voters.
[...] The voting was being monitored by 270 observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), who will present a report on Monday.
(url (http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iNlwWdAIIh5FXqafHcmFOOrVxSkg))
Also related to Kyrgyzstan, but on an... uhm... completely different note:
Kyrgyzstan claims to be Santa's new home
How a sly international cabal is trying to make Kyrgyzstan the true home of our Santa
Santa Claus has been known to do some pretty strange things, like gaining access to private homes through sooty chimneys. Or eating billions of cookies in a heady state of sugar delirium each night before Christmas.
But moving to Kyrgyzstan?
It has some shaking their heads at the jolly old fellow with the fat belly and the sack full of toys for billions of children around the world.
Though it has not been confirmed by Santa himself, in an audacious move that comes on the eve of his most important time of year, the tiny republic of Kyrgyzstan – with the help of some Swedish engineers – is claiming Santa lives there.
Highly controversial, the assertion threatens to turn into an international incident as it bumps up against Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic and ignores what some consider the very clear evidence that Santa occupies our territory at the North Pole.
In recent days, Kyrgyz authorities have become more vocal about Santa's presence on their soil. Tourism official Akbar Dzhigitov said, "Kyrgyzstan really wants to be recognized as the true home of Father Christmas."
Their confidence got a boost after engineers at the Swedish consulting firm Sweco made a number of calculations, taking into account where most children on the planet live and the Earth's rotation, to determine that the Kyrgyz Republic is the ideal spot from which Santa should begin his round-the-world odyssey.
In an age of just-in-time delivery and global awareness of climate change, Kyrgyzstan offers Santa unparalleled efficiency, Sweco claims, reducing the impact on the environment and his overworked reindeer.
"We help companies transport people or goods to make it more efficient," Sweco representative Rebecka Gunner told the Star. "If Santa wants to deliver the packages in time, this would be the best place for him to start."
It's a prospect that doesn't sit well with everyone. Canada Post, for one, thinks it preposterous.
The crown corporation runs a service each year sending more than a million letters and tens of thousands of emails to Santa from children all over the world, in more than two dozen languages. Last month it was named a Guinness World Record holder for the most letters received and replied to by mail, because of the sheer volume destined for the North Pole post office.
"It's a Canadian geographic territory," said Canada Post's Nicole Lemire. "It's a Canadian postal code!"
[...] Santa – whose story hails from the 4th century and the Christian Saint Nicholas, who gave generously to the poor and performed miracles for the distraught – is typically thought to live in a splendid red house with Mrs. Claus and preside over a grand toy workshop in the colours of a candy cane.
But his life might be somewhat different in central Asia. He might, for instance, live in a yurt, a circular abode covered in wool felt. His diet would consist mostly of mutton. He'd have to make do with fermented mare's milk, called jailoo, to go along with snacks like a slice of sheep's tail fat.
The fact that Kyrgyzstan is a predominantly Muslim country where few celebrate Christmas doesn't dissuade Zamira Sydykova, the Kyrgyz ambassador to the United States and Canada.
Besides the fact that Santa has been known to bring toys to all girls and boys regardless of their race or creed, Sydykova said in a phone interview from her country's embassy in Washington, D.C., that her country has its own Santa Claus tradition. He comes on New Year's Eve, when all Kyrgyz people exchange presents, an old Soviet-era tradition that has lingered since independence in 1991.
"They believe that Father Snow, he's living in the mountains and he's coming to the valleys, to the cities and to the villages to give us gifts at New Year," she explains.
It's the perfect place for Santa because of its beauty, the ambassador insists. "The snow on the mountains, it's existing in all the seasons." And she recounts an enduring Kyrgyz legend of how the nation came to be.
God himself, when he was distributing land to other people, decided to keep majestic Kyrgyzstan for himself. When the Kyrgyz people came to him to ask, "What about us?" God paused a moment. Then he said, "I'll give you this small piece of the world I chose for myself."
This is why the Kyrgyz people believe they're living on God's own earth.
And if it's good enough for God, Sydykova suggests, it's good enough for Santa Claus.
Others aren't so sure. The North American Aerospace Defence Command, the binational United States and Canadian military agency that controls the continent's airspace, insists it's been tracking Santa's journey for 50 years using ground radar and geosynchronous satellites.
"He lives at the North Pole," Maj. Stacia Reddish, who's involved in the tracking of Santa, says confidently.
(link (http://www.thestar.com/News/article/286017))
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev called the vote after overhauling the constitution and launching his own party, Ak Zhol, which has been widely tipped to win.
Critics say the poll and constitutional changes are a power-grab and accuse him of moving towards authoritarianism.
His supporters argue that the new system is fairer and more democratic.
[...] The election is the first parliamentary vote since 2005, when allegations of a rigged ballot led to mass protests that drove President Askar Akayev from power.
[...] Almazbek Atambayev, leader of the Social Democratic Party, which is expected to be the main opposition, said there would "certainly be fraud".
"We will not watch idly in case of lawlessness... a number of parties are preparing protests," he said.
But the president has pledged that "all will be honest" with the vote in the former Soviet republic, which has a reputation for being the most politically open country in the Central Asia region.
Kyrgyzstan has suffered political upheaval since 2005, when Mr Akayev fled to Russia.
Mr Bakiyev led the street protests against Mr Akayev, but he has suffered growing unrest during his own period in office.
Claims of cronyism and of failure to fight corruption led to mass protests in the streets of the capital, Bishkek, earlier this year.
(link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7145133.stm))
Voters in Kyrgyzstan took to the polls Sunday in parliamentary elections that authorities say will bring stability to the Central Asian state but which the opposition says are being rigged.
Twelve political parties were competing for the 90 seats in the Zhogorku Kenesh, the former Soviet republic's legislature, in the first parliamentary elections since irregularities in 2005's vote sparked a revolution.
Polling booths closed at 8:00 pm (1400 GMT), with the country's electoral commission saying the first results would be announced Monday morning.
[...] The elections were being closely watched by outside powers, not least because Kyrgyzstan hosts a US air base set up in 2001 to aid operations in Afghanistan, as well as a Russian air base set up in 2003.
This impoverished country on China's western edge is still in turmoil after the 2005 uprising which saw its first post-Soviet leader Askar Akayev ousted by angry mobs who took over the presidential palace.
Months of street protests followed and three members of parliament were assassinated. Bakiyev and the outgoing parliament have been frequently locked in bitter disputes.
The vote on Sunday was prompted by constitutional changes approved in October that were supposed to ease relations between Bakiyev and his detractors in parliament by increasing the powers of the legislature.
In the voting on Sunday, non-governmental organisations and political parties said they had registered dozens of violations, including multiple voting and various forms of bribes offered to voters.
[...] The voting was being monitored by 270 observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), who will present a report on Monday.
(url (http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iNlwWdAIIh5FXqafHcmFOOrVxSkg))
Also related to Kyrgyzstan, but on an... uhm... completely different note:
Kyrgyzstan claims to be Santa's new home
How a sly international cabal is trying to make Kyrgyzstan the true home of our Santa
Santa Claus has been known to do some pretty strange things, like gaining access to private homes through sooty chimneys. Or eating billions of cookies in a heady state of sugar delirium each night before Christmas.
But moving to Kyrgyzstan?
It has some shaking their heads at the jolly old fellow with the fat belly and the sack full of toys for billions of children around the world.
Though it has not been confirmed by Santa himself, in an audacious move that comes on the eve of his most important time of year, the tiny republic of Kyrgyzstan – with the help of some Swedish engineers – is claiming Santa lives there.
Highly controversial, the assertion threatens to turn into an international incident as it bumps up against Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic and ignores what some consider the very clear evidence that Santa occupies our territory at the North Pole.
In recent days, Kyrgyz authorities have become more vocal about Santa's presence on their soil. Tourism official Akbar Dzhigitov said, "Kyrgyzstan really wants to be recognized as the true home of Father Christmas."
Their confidence got a boost after engineers at the Swedish consulting firm Sweco made a number of calculations, taking into account where most children on the planet live and the Earth's rotation, to determine that the Kyrgyz Republic is the ideal spot from which Santa should begin his round-the-world odyssey.
In an age of just-in-time delivery and global awareness of climate change, Kyrgyzstan offers Santa unparalleled efficiency, Sweco claims, reducing the impact on the environment and his overworked reindeer.
"We help companies transport people or goods to make it more efficient," Sweco representative Rebecka Gunner told the Star. "If Santa wants to deliver the packages in time, this would be the best place for him to start."
It's a prospect that doesn't sit well with everyone. Canada Post, for one, thinks it preposterous.
The crown corporation runs a service each year sending more than a million letters and tens of thousands of emails to Santa from children all over the world, in more than two dozen languages. Last month it was named a Guinness World Record holder for the most letters received and replied to by mail, because of the sheer volume destined for the North Pole post office.
"It's a Canadian geographic territory," said Canada Post's Nicole Lemire. "It's a Canadian postal code!"
[...] Santa – whose story hails from the 4th century and the Christian Saint Nicholas, who gave generously to the poor and performed miracles for the distraught – is typically thought to live in a splendid red house with Mrs. Claus and preside over a grand toy workshop in the colours of a candy cane.
But his life might be somewhat different in central Asia. He might, for instance, live in a yurt, a circular abode covered in wool felt. His diet would consist mostly of mutton. He'd have to make do with fermented mare's milk, called jailoo, to go along with snacks like a slice of sheep's tail fat.
The fact that Kyrgyzstan is a predominantly Muslim country where few celebrate Christmas doesn't dissuade Zamira Sydykova, the Kyrgyz ambassador to the United States and Canada.
Besides the fact that Santa has been known to bring toys to all girls and boys regardless of their race or creed, Sydykova said in a phone interview from her country's embassy in Washington, D.C., that her country has its own Santa Claus tradition. He comes on New Year's Eve, when all Kyrgyz people exchange presents, an old Soviet-era tradition that has lingered since independence in 1991.
"They believe that Father Snow, he's living in the mountains and he's coming to the valleys, to the cities and to the villages to give us gifts at New Year," she explains.
It's the perfect place for Santa because of its beauty, the ambassador insists. "The snow on the mountains, it's existing in all the seasons." And she recounts an enduring Kyrgyz legend of how the nation came to be.
God himself, when he was distributing land to other people, decided to keep majestic Kyrgyzstan for himself. When the Kyrgyz people came to him to ask, "What about us?" God paused a moment. Then he said, "I'll give you this small piece of the world I chose for myself."
This is why the Kyrgyz people believe they're living on God's own earth.
And if it's good enough for God, Sydykova suggests, it's good enough for Santa Claus.
Others aren't so sure. The North American Aerospace Defence Command, the binational United States and Canadian military agency that controls the continent's airspace, insists it's been tracking Santa's journey for 50 years using ground radar and geosynchronous satellites.
"He lives at the North Pole," Maj. Stacia Reddish, who's involved in the tracking of Santa, says confidently.
(link (http://www.thestar.com/News/article/286017))