Omurbek Babanov, the main opponent of ex-President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbai Jeenbekov in the last presidential election, said on Friday that he would not run for presidency again and intended to support acting interim leader Sadyr Japarov
BISHKEK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th November, 2020) Omurbek Babanov, the main opponent of ex-President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbai Jeenbekov in the last presidential election, said on Friday that he would not run for presidency again and intended to support acting interim leader Sadyr Japarov.
Babanov took second place and received more than 33% of the vote against Sooronbai Jeenbekov in the last presidential elections in October 2017.
"I have made a decision not to be a candidate for the post of the president of Kyrgyzstan. I decided to support the candidacy of Sadyr Nurgozhoevich [Japarov]," Babanov said on Facebook.
According to Babanov, he met with Japarov the day before to discuss important topics regarding the development of the country.
"I clearly understood that freedom and democracy are the key values of our country. And I saw that Sadyr Nurgozhoevich will not repeat the mistakes of the previous rulers and is ready for radical changes," Babanov said.
To date, nine candidates have applied to participate in the early presidential elections scheduled for January 10, 2021. Among them the ex-speaker of parliament Kanat Isayev, who resigned from the post to run for president on November 4. The acting interim president and prime minister Sadyr Japarov has also declared his intention to run, however, he has not been officially registered by the Сentral Election Commission. To register for the elections, according to the law, he will have to resign as acting head of state.
Early October, mass protests broke out in Kyrgyzstan after the results of the parliamentary elections were announced. Amid the clashes between the protesters and the security forces, supporters of opposition parties seized the parliament building, where the presidential administration is located. Kyrgyzstan's Central Election Commission later announced that it had annulled the election results.
Civil unrest in Bishkek resumed on October 9 and stability was only restored after the voluntary resignation of Jeenbekov on October 15. Power and responsibilities of the head of state have since been transferred to Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov.
