On July 23, 2009, citizens of Kyrgyzstan will head to the polls to choose a president for the next four years. This exercise in democracy offers a telling look at the state of affairs just over four years after from the "Tulip Revolution," which led to the rise of current President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Dubbed Central Asia’s “Island of Democracy” over the past decade and a half, the country has grown to resemble its more authoritarian neighbors and continues to be at the center of a mini "Great Game" power struggle between, among others, the United States and the Russian Federation. As Kyrgyzstan is always susceptible to Moscow’s influence, these elections, which have been viewed somewhat skeptically by the U.S. donor community, will be an indication of whether Bishkek is renewing its commitment to democracy or has fully converted to a Russia-inspired model of political development. IFES-Kyrgyzstan has developed an
Elections Kit to shed more light into the upcoming vote.