Tulips squashed

摘要

To nobody's surprise, Kyrgyzstan's incumbent president, Kurmanbek Ba-kiev, won re-election for another five-year term on July 23rd. Even the percentage of people of who voted for him-76.4-was standard for a former Soviet republic. Most post-Soviet authoritarian leaders have learned by now that rigging the vote to get more than 90% invites ridicule. The modern dictator arranges to receive 65-85% of votes-high enough to intimidate opponents, low enough to look democratic.rnThe surprise of this election, however, was how poorly it was organised. Election day was marred by ballot-stuffing, inaccuracies in voter lists and multiple voting. The previous presidential election held in 2005, almost four months after the so-called Tulip revolution, got a thumbs-up from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (of which Kyrgyzstan, rather oddly, is a member). This time, the organisation called the vote "a disappointment". That is also how many Kyrgyz feel about Mr Bakiev. He won partly because the opposition was too divided to offer a decent alternative.