Kyrgyzstan: Local Voting Unsettles National Politics
Nov 27 2012
Kyrgyzstan
Source:
Eurasianet
Kyrgyzstan, the closest thing Central Asia has to a working democracy, just held municipal elections. The results are generating tension within the national governing coalition, fueling complaints that new voices are being stifled and causing some observers to raise the specter of a possible repeat of recent history.
Voters in five key municipalities in Kyrgyzstan – Bishkek, Batken, Jalal-Abad, Naryn and Talas – cast ballots November 25 to select new city councils, which choose mayors and make decisions on municipal spending.
