Kyrgyz president says elections are democratic

Opposition leaders have charged that election rules had been violated by Akayev's supporters as this Central Asian country prepared for Sunday's presidential vote. Casting his ballot, Akayev compared the election to the Russian presidential election that put Vladimir Putin in office. "This seems to be a true expression and affirmation of democracy in Russia," he said. according to the Interfax news agency. "I would like my country to do as well as Russia." Akayev said the campaign for Sunday's election was fair and democratic. "The Kyrgyz people are having presidential elections today with a real choice," he said.

Election officials said 20 percent of the country's 3 million voters had cast their ballots by midday. A turnout of 50 percent is necessary for the election to be valid. If none of the six contenders wins 50 percent of the votes cast for an outright victory, a second round of elections will be held. Akayev, who has led Kyrgyzstan since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, is seeking a third term. His eligibility for another term had been in question, but the country's Constitutional Court ruled that he could run because the first time he was elected was in a vote by the parliament rather than in a general election. Many observers see Sunday's election as Kyrgyzstan's last chance to save its reputation as Central Asia's cornerstone of democracy, and foreign aid contingent upon it. Akayev has increasingly been stifling dissent, and several opposition leaders were barred from the presidential vote. Opponents say that during the campaign, Akayev manipulated the state-run media, giving the incumbent three to four hours a day of coverage and limiting his opponents to just 10 minutes. In parliamentary elections in March, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe accused the government of giving voters ballots already marked with pro-Akayev candidates, and blocking observers from viewing the count. Western leaders have pinned hopes on Kyrgyzstan as an oasis of stability and plurality in a region ruled by authoritarian presidents, Islamic warlords and drug traffickers. But many of Kyrgyzstan's voters increasingly see Akayev as autocratic and corrupt, and are angry that he has failed to bring prosperity since the 1991 Soviet collapse. Also, the country has faced Islamic uprisings in the isolated south this year and last that killed scores of people. Still, Akayev, a mild-mannered physicist, is likely to win another term in charge of this impoverished nation on China's northwest border. His opponents are too obscure or lack the money for an aggressive campaign, and many Kyrgyz will vote for Akayev because they fear more change after a tumultuous decade.

(AP)