Kyrgyz crisis eases as rivals agree election pact

THE Kyrgyz election contenders Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Felix Kulov have agreed to divide the spoils of the upcoming presidential election in an attempt to unite the opposition and divert Kyrgyzstan from a north-south split.

Mr Kulov said he and Mr Bakiyev had reached the decision to jointly contest the June 26 presidential election with both politicians racing for the top post. Who ever wins will appoint the other as his prime minister.

However, Kyrgyz lawmakers failed to show up in sufficient numbers yesterday to accept the resignation of President Askar Akayev, leaving the ousted leader still technically in power and extending a two-week-old political crisis.

Parliament was two short of the 50 lawmakers needed to form a quorum. Some of those who had helped negotiate Mr Akayev’s resignation were among the legislators absent on Tuesday. At the same time, some Akayev supporters attended the session, adding to the confusion.

Some observers attributed it to a lack of discipline rather than political motives. “We have not had a quorum in a few days,” lawmaker Soronbai Jeyenbekov complained.

Kyrgyz officials had pushed hard to secure Mr Akayev’s resignation as a significant step toward restoring political order and giving a stamp of legitimacy to a new leadership that rose to power less than two weeks ago amid widespread chaos.

Failure to muster a quorum for such a key event underlined instability in this former Central Asian Soviet republic since the long-time leader’s was ousted on March 24, when protesters stormed his office and he fled the country. Mr Akayev surfaced in Russia several days later.

Popular anger against what many saw as rigged parliamentary elections earlier this year fuelled the revolt, as did crushing poverty and widespread corruption.

Mr Akayev signed a resignation letter on Monday at the Kyrgyz embassy in Moscow. Although his resignation was required by law before new presidential elections could be held, Kyrgyzstan’s top judge warned last week that elections would go ahead with or without his consent.

Mr Kulov said earlier, “With Mr Bakiyev we agreed on the following, both of us will be candidates for the presidency. To prevent any disagreements between the north and the south we will publicly make this announcement.

“Who gets the ultimate first place will become the president, whoever gets second place will be his prime minister. Therefore there is no sense in fighting each other and no point in using black PR against each other because one will be a president and one a prime minister and this is how we should unite the people.”