Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BISHKEK290
2009-04-02 11:29:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Bishkek
Cable title:
Kyrgyzstan: Several Potential Candidates for President
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UNCLAS BISHKEK 000290
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KG
SUBJECT: Kyrgyzstan: Several Potential Candidates for President
Ref: Bishkek 245
Bishkek 156
Bishkek 169
UNCLAS BISHKEK 000290
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KG
SUBJECT: Kyrgyzstan: Several Potential Candidates for President
Ref: Bishkek 245
Bishkek 156
Bishkek 169
1. (SBU) Following the announcement that the presidential election
will be held on July 23 (Ref A),Kyrgyzstan's political parties have
begun to consider possible candidates. In February, incumbent
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced his intention to run for a
second term, and his Ak Jol party is scheduled to hold its party
congress on April 12, where it is likely to formally nominate him.
2. (SBU) Several other parties and opposition groups have held or
will soon hold meetings to determine whether to nominate candidates.
Candidates can be nominated by a party or be self-nominated; in
either case, they must meet a number of additional requirements:
(1) They must collect 50,000 signatures of eligible voters, with 3
percent of the total from each of the country's seven regions, and
both the cities of Osh and Bishkek; (2) they must pay a deposit of
100,000 som (about 2,400 dollars),which they will lose unless they
receive at least 15 percent of the total votes cast; and (3) they
must pass a Kyrgyz language test, which the law requires state
television to carry live. The nomination process will end on May
18, and the Central Election Commission has until June 17 to verify
that candidates have met the requirements for registration.
3. (U) The United People's Movement (UPM),an informal alliance of
opposition parties and political figures, has reportedly decided to
nominate five candidates. On March 30, UPM and Green Party leader
Erkin Bulekbaev told the press that the UPM would later select a
single leading candidate, with the remaining four running as
"reserve" candidates in case the leading candidate is disqualified
or discredited. Bulekbaev said the decision on a leading candidate
might be made as soon as April 10.
4. (U) Although UPM has not yet publicly released the names of its
five candidates, local press reported that they could be:
ex-Speaker and leader of the Ata-Meken Party Omurbek Tekebaev, ex-MP
and leader of the Ak-Shumkar Party Temir Sariyev, ex-Prime Minister
and leader of the Social Democrat Party Almazbek Atambayev, Social
Democrat Parliamentary Faction leader Bakyt Beshimov, and former
Defense Minister Ismail Isakov. However, on April 1, the Ata Meken
Party announced that following consultations within his party and
within UPM, Tekebayev had decided that he would not stand as a
candidate, so that the opposition's efforts would be consolidated
(see Ref B).
5. (U) Other potential candidates who have ruled themselves out of
the race include former Prime Minister Felix Kulov, UPM member and
former Prosecutor General Azimbek Beknazarov, and co-chair of the
Muslim Union (see Ref C) Nurlan Motuyev. The other co-chair of the
Muslim Union, former Ombudsman Tursunbai Bakir uulu, announced on
April 1 that he had been nominated by his party, ErK. Bakir uulu
ran in the 2005 election against Bakiyev, finishing second with 3.8%
of the vote.
6. (SBU) Comment: We expect to see continued scrambling over the
next few weeks as Kyrgyzstan's disparate opposition parties and
groups work out their strategies and possible alliances for the
upcoming election.
GFOELLER
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KG
SUBJECT: Kyrgyzstan: Several Potential Candidates for President
Ref: Bishkek 245
Bishkek 156
Bishkek 169
1. (SBU) Following the announcement that the presidential election
will be held on July 23 (Ref A),Kyrgyzstan's political parties have
begun to consider possible candidates. In February, incumbent
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced his intention to run for a
second term, and his Ak Jol party is scheduled to hold its party
congress on April 12, where it is likely to formally nominate him.
2. (SBU) Several other parties and opposition groups have held or
will soon hold meetings to determine whether to nominate candidates.
Candidates can be nominated by a party or be self-nominated; in
either case, they must meet a number of additional requirements:
(1) They must collect 50,000 signatures of eligible voters, with 3
percent of the total from each of the country's seven regions, and
both the cities of Osh and Bishkek; (2) they must pay a deposit of
100,000 som (about 2,400 dollars),which they will lose unless they
receive at least 15 percent of the total votes cast; and (3) they
must pass a Kyrgyz language test, which the law requires state
television to carry live. The nomination process will end on May
18, and the Central Election Commission has until June 17 to verify
that candidates have met the requirements for registration.
3. (U) The United People's Movement (UPM),an informal alliance of
opposition parties and political figures, has reportedly decided to
nominate five candidates. On March 30, UPM and Green Party leader
Erkin Bulekbaev told the press that the UPM would later select a
single leading candidate, with the remaining four running as
"reserve" candidates in case the leading candidate is disqualified
or discredited. Bulekbaev said the decision on a leading candidate
might be made as soon as April 10.
4. (U) Although UPM has not yet publicly released the names of its
five candidates, local press reported that they could be:
ex-Speaker and leader of the Ata-Meken Party Omurbek Tekebaev, ex-MP
and leader of the Ak-Shumkar Party Temir Sariyev, ex-Prime Minister
and leader of the Social Democrat Party Almazbek Atambayev, Social
Democrat Parliamentary Faction leader Bakyt Beshimov, and former
Defense Minister Ismail Isakov. However, on April 1, the Ata Meken
Party announced that following consultations within his party and
within UPM, Tekebayev had decided that he would not stand as a
candidate, so that the opposition's efforts would be consolidated
(see Ref B).
5. (U) Other potential candidates who have ruled themselves out of
the race include former Prime Minister Felix Kulov, UPM member and
former Prosecutor General Azimbek Beknazarov, and co-chair of the
Muslim Union (see Ref C) Nurlan Motuyev. The other co-chair of the
Muslim Union, former Ombudsman Tursunbai Bakir uulu, announced on
April 1 that he had been nominated by his party, ErK. Bakir uulu
ran in the 2005 election against Bakiyev, finishing second with 3.8%
of the vote.
6. (SBU) Comment: We expect to see continued scrambling over the
next few weeks as Kyrgyzstan's disparate opposition parties and
groups work out their strategies and possible alliances for the
upcoming election.
GFOELLER