On Sunday, June 27, Kyrgyzstan held a referendum on the adoption of a new constitution. This poll was held just 80 days after the violent overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and in the immediate aftermath of ethnic Kyrgyz-Uzbek conflicts in Kyrgyzstan’s south that left hundreds dead and at least 300,000 people displaced.

Anthony Bowyer, IFES program manager for the Caucasus & Central Asia, comments on the referendum:

“Voters in the Kyrgyz Republic approved a constitutional referendum yesterday conferring approval of the country becoming a parliamentary democracy while supporting interim leader Rosa Otunbayeva’s term in office through 2011. The vote, which took place in spite of ethnic clashes in the south of the country which killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands more mere weeks ago, was conducted in an atmosphere of relative peace and order. According to official results released by the Central Election Commission, close to 70% of eligible voters participated with 90% voting in favor of the referendum.  Though there was no minimum threshold for the referendum, the turnout figures need to be examined in light of the large scale displacement of voters, primarily of Uzbek ethnicity, in Osh and Jalal-Abad oblasts. Election officials attempted to provide temporary identification to those who had lost their passports in the violence, thereby allowing them to vote, and offered a mobile voting service in the affected regions, though it is questionable how many affected persons were captured through these efforts.  The vote is seen as an affirmation of the fragile government, which came to power after a violent uprising in April, and its plans to establish a strong parliament through elections scheduled for October 2010. IFES supported these elections through intensive training of pollworkers throughout the country and advice to the Central Election Commission on modifying election law procedures. With funding provided through USAID, IFES will continue to assist election stakeholders in Kyrgyzstan as plans now shift to preparing for the October parliamentary vote.”