Atambayev wins Kyrgyz vote in landslide

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan - Outgoing Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev won a landslide victory in the country's presidential election, the country's Central Election Committee said on Monday.

Local analysts said Atambayev's victory was mainly due to the accumulation of prestige in his political career, but also warned he faced many challenges after taking office.

After being elected prime minister last December, Atambayev has taken a series of effective initiatives to rebuild the country's shattered economy, including measures to combat corruption and increase people's salaries and pensions.

Meanwhile, analysts said that with the support of the outgoing interim President Roza Otunbayeva, Atambayev had managed to implement a balanced foreign policy, which had significantly improved the country's external environment compared with last year.

However, Atambayev will face many grave challenges after taking office, and improper handling of any of them could lead to serious consequences, they say. The "post-election syndrome" is hard to avoid, analysts said.

The United Kyrgyzstan party leader Adakhan Madumarov, a strong rival to Atambayev, and some other presidential candidates have complained that a large amount of administrative resources had been used by the government to support Atambayev.

Demanding a fair chance to compete, they said they would "rise to defend their legitimate rights".

Other opposition candidates also complained on Sunday that there were many irregularities at some polling stations, and they have sought to have the election declared invalid.

Atambayev would have to deal with all these appropriately, or they could set off a wave of protests and even trigger social unrest, analysts said.

Xinhua