In Kyrgyzstan the first parliamentary election under the new constitution was held on Sunday. A set of seemingly definitive results has been issued, even though certain parties are contesting the final figures. That said, the official results do not make very much sense to me.

These are the results from the Central Electoral Commission for the five parties that crossed the five per cent threshold:

Ata-Jurt – 8.89%, 28 seats
SDPK (Social Democratic Party) – 8.03%, 26 seats
Ar-Namys – 7.74%, 25 seats
Respublica – 7.24%, 23 seats
Ata-Meken – 5.6%, 18 seats
Total 120 seats

The next party, Butun Kyrgyzstan, won 4.84% and is contesting the result, claiming that it crossed the threshold. Anyway, as you can see, even though I have not reported the small percentages for many other parties, the total is nowhere near 100%. So, I, for one, am confused.

Assuming the results stand, they mean that three parties will be needed to form a coalition. Ata-Jurt represents the supporters of the ousted leader of the Tulip Revolution-turned-semi-authoritarian leader, Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The SDPK is led by the acting president, Roza Otunbayeva, who led the revolution against Bakiyev. So, in theory, there is little common ground between them. Ar-Namys (Dignity) dates back to 1999. Ata-Meken dates back to 1992 and seems to be an ally of the SDPK. I have no details about Respublica, but RFE/RL reports that it may be the third party in a coalition with SDPK and Ata-Meken.

Generally, there is a feeling that the election was relatively fair, but that the results may lead to gridlock, which could be damaging.

Update:

The official figures (4 November) from the Central Election Commission as reported by the Kyrgyzstan News Agency are as follows:

Ata-Zhurt (8.4 percent)
Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (7.83 percent)
Ar-Namys (7.57 percent)
Respublica (6.93 percent)
Ata-Meken (5.49 percent)

The seat distribution is the same as before.