BISHKEK, October 9. /TASS/: Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov on October 9 signed an executive order imposing a state of emergency in the capital, Bishkek, starting with 8 pm local time.
"To introduce a state of emergency in the city of Bishkek of the Kyrgyz Republic between 8 pm on October 9 and 8 am on October 21, 2020," Jeenbekov’s press service reported Friday.
The Kyrgyz deputy interior minister is appointed commandant of the capital. The Kyrgyz Armed Forces General Staff has been ordered to move troops to Bishkek to safeguard public order and prevent any armed clashes.
Moreover, the president instructed mass media outlets to "spread information provided by the commandant to avoid heightened tensions in the current situation." The Prosecutor General’s Office was ordered to supervise legality of steps and temporary measures taken.
In the early hours of October 6, representatives of parties who failed to secure seats in parliament at the recent elections staged mass unrest in Bishkek, stormed buildings of state institutions and released former President Almazbek Atambayev as well as other politicians. Some bodies created by the opposition said that they assumed power and appointed their own heads of government and ministries. Unidentified people attempted to seize control of the country’s largest industries. The Central Election Commission declared the results of the recent parliamentary elections null and void. The Kyrgyz leader has called on the leaders of the parties to return to legitimate political process and sacked the government and the prime minister as well as appointed new heads of some power structures.
