Kyrgyzstan Presidential "Election" Update

Preliminary results indicate that incumbent President Kurmanbek Bakiyev received 89% of the vote, allowing him to claim an easy victory in the presidential election when the voting is certified. Citing fraud, Almazbek Atambayev (the leading opposition candidate) withdrew from competition on election day along with another minor contestant. Two members of parliament associated with his party were arrested, sparking a protest that was repressed by the use of substantial force. Officials have annulled the results of at least one precinct, noting problems with vote administration. The usual suspects declared that the election met international standards (CIS, SCO), while the OSCE criticized the quality of the campaign and the process of casting and counting ballots.

The Central Electoral Commission website is currently non-responsive. I have encountered problems with this site in the past; it is possible that the relatively high volume of traffic has temporarily shut it down. If data become available, I will post additional observations.