The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Bishkek

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's party won every available seat in the next parliament, preliminary results showed on Monday, following a weekend election condemned as rigged by the opposition. The tiny ex-Soviet state, home to both U.S. and Russian military bases, has been volatile since Bakiyev came to power in 2005 when a string of violent protests triggered by a disputed election toppled his long-serving predecessor, Askar Akayev. If confirmed by final results, Bakiyev's Ak Zhol party would dominate the 90-seat chamber in effective one-party rule -- a break from Kyrgyzstan's past as the most liberal state among more authoritarian Central Asian countries. "It'll most likely be a one-party system," said Toktogul Kakchekeyev, an independent political analyst. Ak Zhol won 48 percent of Sunday's vote, the Central Election Commission said on Monday, citing results after 80 percent had been counted.