Kyrgyz leader in talks for solution to post-vote chaos

Kyrgyzstan’s president on Thursday held his first talks with parliament to find a way out of the chaos that has engulfed the Central Asian country since disputed elections.

President Sooronbay Jeenbekov even discussed the possibility of his own impeachment with parliament speaker Myktybek Abdyldayev, his office said in a statement.

Opposition parties claim Sunday’s election was rigged by massive vote-buying, triggering protests and unrest that have left at least one dead and hundreds injured. The results of the vote were annulled on Tuesday, but that has done little to ease tensions.

The ex-Soviet state has seen two revolutions and three of its presidents either jailed or sent into exile since independence in 1991.

Jeenbekov, who has ruled Kyrgyzstan since 2017, has not been seen in public since the latest unrest began. He is believed to enjoy the support of Russia, which said it has beefed up security at a military base near the capital, Bishkek.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that Russia was “deeply concerned” about a “situation resembling a mess and chaos.”

He said that Russia’s Federal Security Service head Alexander Bortnikov held talks with Kyrgyzstan’s Omurbek Suvanaliyev, who has claimed the title of acting national security committee chief.