BISHKEK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th October, 2020) Kyrgyzstan is holding parliamentary elections on Sunday, with 2,475 polling places open across the Central Asian country.
"All polling places opened at 8:00 a.m. [2:00 GMT]. The voting will continue until 8:00 p.m. [14:00 GMT]," a Central Election Commission (CEC) official told Sputnik.
In Kyrgyzstan, there are 3.5 million eligible voters, and there is no turnout threshold for the vote to be deemed valid. If the majority votes "against all," the country will hold a repeat vote.
In total, 16 parties are vying for the 120 seats of the unilateral parliament. To win seats, a political party needs to pass the 7 percent electoral threshold and get at least 0.7 percent of the vote in each of the seven regions as well as the two largest cities of Bishkek and Osh.
The election is being monitored by 277 observers from 43 countries. These are mostly representatives of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
First preliminary results are expected in the evening. According to the CEC, thanks to voting machines, it will receive the results from 86 percent of polling places two hours after the voting ends.
President Sooronbay Jeenbekov has already cast his ballot in Bishkek. He said that the authorities had done their best to ensure a fair and transparent election. Earlier, the Interior Ministry said that it had received a number of complaints about vote-buying during the campaign.
According to experts, up to six parties have the chances to secure parliamentary seats. Two newly-formed pro-government parties, Birimdik and Mekenim Kyrgyzstan, as well as the Kyrgyzstan Party are considered to be frontrunners in the race.
