Kyrgyzstan prime minister resigns amid election protests

BISHKEK: Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Kubatbek Boronov has resigned amid protests that plunged the country into chaos after allegations of vote-rigging.

Kubatbek Boronov resigned from his position after widespread protests started in Kyrgyzstan following elections. He has now been replaced by Sadyr Japarov, who protesters released from jail the day before.

Terming the elections as rigged, opposition groups have gained control of the parliament. Facing increasing pressure from the opposition, the country’s electoral body has annulled the results of Sunday’s parliament elections.

Parties allied to the country’s president Sooronbai Jeenbekov won the largest share of the votes, amid accusations of mass vote-buying.

President Jeenbekov is still in power but has hinted that he is ready to withdraw from the position. “I am ready to give the responsibility to strong leaders”, he had stated earlier.

The president had stated that he was all prepared to annul the election results before the official announcement came from the Central Election Commission, which said it had invalidated the election results in view of the political situation in the country.

The political chaos the country has led to the release of several high-profile political detainees including Mr. Japarov and former president Almazbek Atambayev, who was serving an 11-year sentence for corruption.