KYRGYZSTAN. The citizens of Kyrgyzstan are protesting against the government of the country. The protestors are calling for the country’s parliamentary election to be annulled. Several demonstrators were seen inside the parliament building today.
Anti-government protests in the country
Video footage shared on social media showed people entering the office of President Sooronbai Jeenbekov and demolishing it. Several papers were thrown out from the windows and some parts of the building appeared to be on fire.
Opposition protesters were trying to gain access to the complex. Some people were climbing fences while others were pushing open the main gates. Later, smoke was seen billowing out of the building.
Along with the break-in, many protestors were involved in the clashes with the police. But, the crowd was dispersed by the police who used water cannons and tear gas on the protestors. The clashes come amid allegations of vote-rigging in last Sunday’s election.
According to the Health Ministry of Kyrgyzstan, around 600 people were injured in the clashes and one person died due to injury.
On Monday, police had used stun grenades to disperse thousands of protestors in Ala-Too square. But, demonstrators flooded back into the central square before storming the parliament building.
Political unrest in Kyrgyzstan
Protestors released Kyrgyzstan’s former President, Almazbek Atambayev, from custody on Tuesday. The former President was held in a remand centre at the State National Security Service.
In addition to that, groups close to the current President have been accused of buying votes and intimidating voters. Around 12 opposition parties jointly declared that they would not recognize the results of the vote. Opposition candidates also called on the Central Electoral Commission to cancel the results of the election.
However, President Jeenbekov’s office stated that the President will meet leaders from the opposition parties in a bid to defuse tensions between them.
Meanwhile, President Jeenbekov has accused political forces of attempting to illegally seize power from him. According to reports, he has also met the opposition party leaders and said that he would annul the results of the election.
