Tag Archives: election

Kyrgyz opposition appoints Tekebayev as presidential candidate

MARCH 8 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Kyrgyz opposition group Ata- Meken appointed Omur Tekebayev, arrested last week at the airport for alleged corruption around a telecoms deal in 2010, its presidential candidate for an election set for November (March 5). Ata-Meken have said that the corruption allegations against Mr Tekebayev and other members of Ata-Meken were politically motivated.

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(News report from Issue No. 320, published on March 13 2017)

 

9 parties/blocks to fight election in Armenia

FEB. 21 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Armenia’s Central Election Commission said that five political parties and four political alliances will compete in a parliamentary election in April. The election is considered to be one of the most important in Armenia’s recent political history as a change in the constitution shifted power to parliament away from the president. Parliament will also be elected under new rules which mix proportional representation with directly elected candidates.

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(News report from Issue No. 318, published on Feb.24 2017)

Second former Kyrgyz PM registers for November’s presidential election

BISHKEK, FEB. 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Omurbek Babanov registered himself as a candidate for the Ata-Zhurt party in this year’s presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan, the second former PM to declare his intention of standing.

Mr Babanov was PM for eight months under President Almazbek Atambayev in 2011/12. He follows former PM Temir Sariev as declaring his candidacy early ahead of the election planed for November.

Like his rival, Mr Sariev, Mr Babanov, 47, had been forced to resign as PM in August 2012 over corruption allegations.

Both will be competing to replace Mr Atambayev who is stepping down after a single five year term, as stipulated by the constitution. Observers have said the vote could be one of the few genuinely competitive elections in Central Asia since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

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(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)

Turkmen leader wins another seven years in power

FEB. 12 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov won a presidential election in Turkmenistan with 97.7% of the vote, improving, even, on the 97.1% he won in 2012.

This is Mr Berdymukhamedov’s third presidential election victory in Turkmenistan. He has ruled since 2007 and this latest win gives him another seven years in power.

Critics have said that the election was fraudulent and that Mr Berdymukhamedov did not face any real opposition as the candidates running against him all supported his policies. Turkmenistan was officially a one- party state until 2012 when the first multi-party elections were first run. In essence, though, they have been show-elections with Mr Berdymukhamedov set up to win.

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(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)

Armenia’s first president to stand in election

FEB. 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Armenia’s first post-Soviet president between 1991 and 1998, confirmed that he will head a party list for the Armenian National Congress (ANC)-People’s Party of Armenia alliance at parliamentary elections in April. Mr Ter-Petrosyan, 71, cuts a controversial figure. He still commands support from loyalists and considers current president Serzh Sargsyan to be his great opponent. In 2008, he was blamed with whipping up anti- government sentiment amongst a crowd that ended with clashes with police and the death of at least 15 protesters.

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(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)f

 

Turkmens prepare for election

FEB. 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — People in Turkmenistan prepared to vote in a presidential election set for Feb. 12 that observers said incumbent president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov would win easily. Human rights and free media activists in Europe and the US have used the election to highlight what they have said is a lack of basic human rights in Turkmenistan.

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(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)

Georgian region sets election

JAN. 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — The rebel Georgian region of South Ossetia has set its upcoming presidential election for April 9. The incumbent leader of South Ossetia, which declared independence from Georgia in the early 1990s and was recognised by Russia and a handful of other countries as a separate nation in 2008 after a Russia- Georgia war, is Leonid Tibilov. He has said he will compete in the election to try to win another, and final, five year term. The election is likely to raise tension with Georgia.

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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)

Candidates register for Pres. election in Turkmenistan

JAN. 18 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan’s Central Election Commission said that nine candidates, including incumbent Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, had registered to stand in a presidential election set for Feb. 12. Mr Berdymukhamedov, standing for his third term, is expected to win. Western observers have never judged a Turkmen election to be free or fair.

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(News report from Issue No. 313, published on Jan. 20 2017)

Turkmenistan’s Democratic party puts Berdy forward

DEC. 15 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan’s Democratic party formally put President Kurbangkuly Berdymukhamedov forward as its candidate in an election set for February. Mr Berdymukhamedov has been in power for a decade. He is likely to easily win the presidential election. No Western vote monitors have ever judged an election in Turkmenistan to be either free or fair.

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(News report from Issue No. 309, published on Dec. 16 2016)f

 

 

Uzbeks prepare to back Mirziyoyev as their second post-Soviet president

TASHKENT, DEC. 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Even last month, it was clear to Uzbeks who was going to win a presidential election on Dec. 4.

“It is already known who is going to be our new president,” laughed Farkhod, 55, a resident of Samarkand. “But still I am fine with him.”

The “him” is Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan’s PM and acting president since Islam Karimov died on Sept. 2.

And on a tour of Uzbekistan’s two main cities — Tashkent and Samarkand — Mr Mirziyoyev appeared to be a genuinely popular choice to replace Karimov. He’s also had the advantage of looking presidential by leading Karimov’s funeral and hosting various world leaders, such as Russian president Vladimir Putin and Turkish president Recep Erdogan.

For Saidaziz, 21, a student in Tashkent, stability was the key issue. “I am going to vote for Mirziyoyev, as it seems that he is going to continue the line of Islam Karimov,” she said.

Not everybody is as enthusiastic, though. An Uzbek academic who preferred not to be named said that Mr Mirziyoyev had a reputation for being excessively strict.

“As far as I know, Karimov did not choose Mirziyoyev as his successor, as he was aware of the methods the latter prefers to use,” he said in hushed tones between sips of tea in a Tashkent cafe.

Still, for most Uzbeks, Mr Mirziyoyev’s moves to open up the country and to create jobs through major infrastructure projects are welcome.

The economy has been in the doldrums for two years and needs stimulating. Alexander, a 54-year-old plumber in Tashkent said that a change of president would have little impact on ordinary people.

“The elite will decide who becomes president, without our participation, but there won’t be any revolution from ordinary Uzbeks,” he said. “Creating a stable political system, like the one in America is more important task.”

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(News report from Issue No. 307, published on Dec. 2 2016)