Kyrgyzstan held a general election this past Sunday. According to preliminary results, only four parties collected enough votes to get seats in the legislature, including two pro-government parties — Birimdik and Mekenim Kyrgyzstan — and two centrist parties — the Kyrgyzstan Party and Butun Kyrgyzstan.
The supporters of the parties which had not made it beyond the minimum vote threshold have gathered at Bishkek's Ala-Too to demand a revision of election results. They are accusing the government of the falsification of the election results and vote buying. The number of protesters has reached 1,000 already and continues to grow.
В Киргизии после выборов начинаются полноценные протесты.
— ОколоНоля (@redsquare2018) October 5, 2020
Бишкек, сейчас! 2020 хватит pic.twitter.com/ISrLZr6cV5
A detachment of police was put in place in another square nearby — more than 500 officers equipped with shields and batons as well as water cannons. The law enforcement have not interfered with the protesters so far, according to the report.
#бишкек pic.twitter.com/zNFEW9DmWk
— Zinat (@delovayakyz) October 5, 2020
A smaller protest is happening in the northwestern Kyrgyz city of Talas, where more than 500 people — representatives of the Respublika party, the Bir Bol party, the Ata-Meken Socialist Party and the Chon Kazat party — have gathered near the Medetbekov Theater, declaring their rejection of the election results and intention to join the Bishkek protest.
Another small protest is taking place in the central Naryn city — some 100 people are attending it, including party representatives.
