Kyrgyzstan citizens in Qatar during the polling.
Doha: Kyrgyzstan citizens in Qatar participated in the presidential election yesterday at the Kyrgyz Embassy using the biometric polling booth.
Acting Prime Minister in the interim government, Sadyr Japarov, won a landslide victory. Seventeen candidates contested in the election including Japarov, who took over the helm of the country after the unrest following the parliamentary election on October 4, 2020 that led to the cancellation of results and the resignation of former President Sooronbay Jeenbekov.
In 2016 Kyrgyzstan modernised its voting system — preventing fraud as each citizen votes with a fingerprint, and the electronic ballot boxes accept only one ballot at a time.
Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Qatar H E Chyngyz Eshimbekov told The Peninsula that the biometric process “instils trust” as the country undergoes a landmark political process.
Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Qatar, H E Chyngyz Eshimbekov, casts his ballot.
“We have a small community here of around 600 people, and most are young professionals working in the hospitality sector. There was a positive turnout for the election. All registered voters identify themselves with their fingerprints, and only then would they get the ballot paper, vote for their candidate, and send it through the ballot machine,” the Ambassador said.
Meanwhile, in the referendum, people will decide whether they prefer the current parliamentary system, a presidential system, or neither.
Commenting on the referendum, Eshimbekov said, “This referendum is being held around the world. We have polling stations in all embassies and consular offices worldwide. The referendum raises three questions (parliamentary, presidential, or object to both forms of government). Since the October election, there has been a lot of discussion whether to keep the current system or switch to presidential. This discussion was triggered by the results of the October 4 elections, where even though systems to ensure a smooth election was in place, there were allegations of bribery in constituencies.
“The major thing is whatever form of government that is decided, the people are more interested in what will lead to effective governance and positive results for the economy. We choose a democratic way to let civil movements and opinion to develop peacefully, and this is why the election was held within the constitution,” he added.
