Following the crisis that recently rocked the nation, Kyrgyzstan’s President Sooronbay Jeenbekov has resigned his position, noting that he wanted to bring an end to the issue sparked by disputed parliamentary elections.
According to local reports, protests had erupted after the election on October 4 was won by parties loyal to Jeenbekov but opponents said it was hit by vote-buying. The results were later annulled but this did not put off the flame.
In a statement released by his office, Jeenbekov said “I am not clinging to power. I do not want to go down in the history of Kyrgyzstan as a president who allowed bloodshed and shooting on its people. I have taken the decision to resign”.
The Nigerian Canadian News gathered that more than 1,200 people were injured and one killed during the clashes in the wake of the elections between protesters and police.
The move came as supporters of Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov who was serving jail time for hostage-taking, gathered once more to demand Jeenbekov’s immediate resignation.
“The current situation is close to a two-sided conflict. On the one hand, the protesters, on the other, the law enforcement agencies,” Jeenbekov said.
“Military personnel and law enforcement agencies are obliged to use weapons to protect the residence of head of state. In this case, blood will be shed. It is inevitable. I urge both sides not to succumb to provocations.”
It would be recalled that in a bid to quench the burning flame, the president had earlier accepted the nomination of Japarov as prime minister but Japarov insisted that the president should step down.
Jeenbekov called on Japarov and other politicians “to withdraw their supporters from the capital of the country so the people of Bishkek (can) return to a peaceful life.”
It would be recalled that Jeenbekov had previously pledged to resign after overseeing fresh parliamentary elections in the country. But Japarov and his supporters pressed for an immediate resignation.
Kyrgyzstan has been dogged by political volatility for much of its three decades of independence.
Official records have it that the landlocked republic of 6.5 million people has now seen three presidents unseated by unrest since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
