On November 25, 2012, local council elections took place in Kyrgyzstan. Polling stations opened at 8 am in 416 village districts and 25 cities around the country. Kyrgyzstan’s President Almazbek Atambaev stated that the elections will be honest and went on to add that today power in Kyrgyzstan is not held by one family or one clan, hence the election results cannot be predicted in advance, as in the past. However, despite the president’s optimistic view on elections, the preliminary election results have demonstrated the prevalence of clan politics and regionalism. For example, Ata –Jurt, the party of former President Kurmanbek Bakiev, obtained their best results in the southern region of Jalalabad.

Kyrgyz authorities underline that violations will be taken seriously. During a press conference in Bishkek, Vice Prime Minister and Chief of Election Headquarters Taiyrbek Sarpashev stated that “For each violation at polling stations necessary measures will be taken.” According to Sarpashev, recorded violations took place in about 20 out of 2028 polling stations. In other words, less than 1 percent of the polling stations recorded violations on Election Day. While these will most likely not have a significant effect on the final result, Sarpashev made clear that identified violations will be investigated and if necessary punished.

During a press conference in Bishkek, the First Deputy of Ministry of Internal Affairs Baktybek Jusubaliev stated that more than 10 cases of violations had been reported, although none are classified as major violations. All these cases will be investigated and written protocols will be sent to courts for review. Ten written statements on election violations have been received by the Central Election Committee. Most complaints dealt with the absence of certain names on the voter’s lists and labeling.

During Election Day, no major violations were reported, although civil society representatives have reported cases of “carousel voting” used by teachers in the capital of Bishkek. The day after elections, a video documenting this practice spread throughout the internet, causing confusion and anger among citizens. In the video a representative of Respublika, one of the running parties, gives instructions to young voters on how to cast their vote more than once at different polling stations. Independent observers reported additional violations. Throughout the day, on social media such as Twitter and Facebook, citizens complained about being unable to find their names on the voter’s lists at the polling stations. In spite of these problems, the authorities have stated that elections were held in accordance with the highest standards. No cases involving use of administrative resources have been identified; this information was also confirmed and stated by the Vice Prime Minister Sarpashev.

Less than half of the eligible voters, 48 percent, turned out for the local council elections. Many experts believe that a lower voter turnout is not a negative thing. On the contrary, taking into account that the turnout has at times been viewed as suspiciously high during previous elections, and considering the lack of trust among Kyrgyz voters in the government as well as the electoral system, a high turnout is an indication of election fraud.

Two days after the elections a number of parties publicly accused the Mayor’s office in Bishkek of election fraud. The parties want a recount of the votes at all polling stations in Bishkek. Following Election Day, Respublika published a list of 50 polling stations where violations allegedly took place. The Ar-Namys party has stated that there were 88 cases of violations at polling stations.

The Central Election Commission provided preliminary data on election results in Bishkek on November 28, featuring evaluations of the protocols from all 203 polling stations. According to the preliminary data, President Atambaev’s Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan has won the elections by 32.83 percent, while its competitors Respublika and Ata-Meken scored 18.07 percent and 10.24 percent respectively. It is worth nothing that 2.47 percent voted “against all.”

Despite the fact that all the votes have been cast and evaluated, it is obvious that the “losing” parties will challenge the outcome and that the President’s optimistic view of the elections as fully honest remains far from reality. However, in comparison to previous elections, it was noted by both the authorities and independent observers that the 2012 local council elections went comparatively smoothly. It could be noticed at almost every polling station that independent observers took an active role in monitoring the election process. Furthermore, the stream of messages on social media such as Twitter and Facebook stating “I have voted,” especially among the youth, demonstrates not only a decrease in political apathy but most importantly indicates that the general population is beginning to take an active role in Kyrgyzstan’s electoral process.