Election protests sputter in Kyrgyzstan

Election officials in southern Kyrgyzstan said the weekend election was fair though some communities are calling for the results to be overturned. Kyrgyzstan had presidential elections Sunday, the first vote since an April 2010 coup led former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee to Belarus. Following the coup, at least 470 people were killed in ethnic conflicts near Osh and Jalal Abad. The country's election commission said Almazbek Atambayev secured 63 percent of the vote. Officials in the southern city of Jalal Abad told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the election was fair though Atambayev didn't generate support in that part of the country compared with rivals who were both popular in the south. Protesters, nonetheless, turned out in Jalal Abad and Osh to support calls from Atambayev's challengers for a new vote. RFE/RL notes the turnout, however, was small, suggesting a frustration with the results wasn't widespread. Protesters this week blocked a major highway to Bishkek to protest election results. Interim President Roza Otunbayeva is ineligible for a second term. Her term expires at the end of the year.