Kyrgyz Parliamentarians Launch Impeachment Procedure Against President Jeenbekov

BISHKEK (Sputnik) - Kyrgyz lawmakers have launched an impeachment procedure against President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, Kanybek Imanaliev, a parliamentarian from opposition party Ata-Meken, said.

"Some of the parliamentarians signed an impeachment. There is a very complicated procedure, but we can say that it has been launched", he said.

The parliamentarians gathered for a meeting on Wednesday evening at the call of their colleagues who are on the Coordination Council of Popular Trust.

They keep the gathering place secret so as not to be pressured by the protesters. It is not known whether a sufficient number of lawmakers is present at the meeting to announce the impeachment procedure. Elvira Surabaldiyeva, a lawmaker from opposition party Ata-Meken, turned off the broadcast at the request of fellow parliamentarians.

Opposition protesters have taken to the streets of Bishkek since the announcement of results of the 4 October parliamentary elections, which saw only four political parties surpass a 7 percent vote threshold to gain seats in the Kyrgyz parliament.

On 5 October, about 2,000 supporters of parties that failed to gain seats in the republic's parliament in Bishkek gathered on the central Ala-Too square. They demanded to cancel election results and hold a repeat vote. Clashes between protesters and security officials started toward the evening on the same day leading to a series of events that forced the Kyrgyz Central Election Commission to annul the results of the vote.

In the early hours of 6 October, protesters managed to break into the building, which hosts the Central Asian country's parliament and the presidential office. They then moved toward the State Committee for National Security, where Almazbek Atambayev, the country's former leader was being held and freed him.