Kyrgyzstan held a referendum to adopt the country’s new constitution on June 27. The voting list included only one question – whether the citizens agree to “approve the constitution of the Kyrgyz republic and the law “On implementing the Constitution” proposed by the interim government.
Kyrgyzstan held a referendum to adopt the country’s new constitution on June 27. The voting list included only one question – whether the citizens agree to “approve the constitution of the Kyrgyz republic and the law “On implementing the Constitution” proposed by the interim government.
No violence, riots or clashes in the Uzbek residential areas of Osh and Jalalabad were recorded during the voting.
However, at the polling station voters of Osh remembered the victims of the June riots. On June 10, a new wave of riots ripped through the country’s southern areas of Osh and Jalalabad, where Uzbeks (30% of Kyrgyzstan’s population) live. The rioters burnt cars, attacked shops, markets and residential buildings, and looters invaded the streets.
Officials said 294 people have been killed in the clashes, while unofficial reports said the number could reach 2,000 and more than 500,000 have become refugees. The Kyrgyz interim government imposed a state of emergency in both areas.
The voter turnout at the referendum was high, mobile voting commissions worked in cities and villages.
A total of 98.3% of military, their family members, and Kyrgyz Defense Ministry workers voted at the referendum on the country’s new constitution, the ministry reported.
Voters in Kyrgyzstan were marked with a special luminous ink. Kyrgyz citizens who were included in the list of refugees made by the local government had the right to vote at any ballot station, no matter where they were officially registered, absence of passport or identity documents.
The final results of the referendum will be announced within a week. According to preliminary reports, as of June 28, 90.84% of voters said “yes” to the new constitution in the voting ballot, while 7.84% said “no.” Other voting ballots were considered invalid.
Kyrgyzstan's interim Finance Minister Temir Sariyev at a polling station during the Kyrgyz constitutional referendum.
First deputy head of the interim government, Alzambek Atambayev, at a polling station during the Kyrgyz constitutional referendum.
Kyrgyzstan's interim Deputy Prime Minister Omurbek Tekebayev while voting at the Kyrgyz constitutional referendum.
