From Chinese Press

Kyrgyzstan still faces bumpy road after referendum

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-29 14:02

As the new constitution was passed, the interim government would be dissolved before July 10, allowing the party leaders to prepare for the parliamentary elections slated for September.

Since election law bans government officials from participating in parliamentary elections, analysts predict that many interim government members would resign after the referendum to organize their own parties for the elections.

Just as expected, interim Deputy Prime Minister Omurbek Tekebayev said soon after casting his vote that he would step down on July 10, no matter when the elections would be held.

He said interim Interior Minister Bolot Sher from his Ata-Meken party would also resign.

The three-party interim government was made of the Ata-Meken, headed by Tekebayev, Almaz Atambayev's Social Democratic Party and Temir Sariyev's Ak-Shumkar party.

The three parties, with some small parties around them, had shared a same goal as the opposition of ousted former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev. But the fight for seats in the new parliament would cause strong undercurrent during the elections, senior political analyst Kuban Taebaldiyev said.

"The parties were bound together in the interim government, despite different party polices and divergent views. But the conflicts among them, which have been accumulated for a long time, might be intensified or break out in the war for parliament seats," Taebaldiyev said.

If that happens, the political situation of Kyrgyzstan may become worse, he said.

Besides internal political conflicts, security and the economy remain uncertain for Kyrgyzstan.

It was contradictory that while the interim government kept saying the turbulent southern part was stabilizing after the deadly clashes, Otunbayeva said after returning from the violence-hit city of Osh on Sunday that the curfew, lifted for the referendum, would be re-imposed in the southern cities until Aug. 10.

The mayor of Osh admitted local extremist groups were waiting for the chance to incite violence again, once the security forces deployed there had to leave.

Located in the hinterland of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan is one of the most underdeveloped nations of the former Soviet Union. Poverty has served the main cause for the riots and regime changes over the past decades.

Therefore, economic growth remains a challenge to be tackled by the future ruling parties of Kyrgyzstan, analyst Mars Sariyev said.

"If the new government fails to restore stability and improve the life of ordinary people, those who voted yes today would probably vote no next time," he said.