Kyrgyz crisis deepens as opposition groups try to grab power

Kyrgyzstan slid deeper into chaos on Wednesday as rival opposition factions made grabs for power, a day after they stormed government buildings, forcing the prime minister Kubatbek Boronov to resign. 

Early Wednesday, President Sooronbai Jeenbekov called for talks between all parties.

Two presidents have been overthrown in Kyrgyzstan in the past 15 years, and longtime ally Russia expressed concern as protests spread across the country.

Reuters reports that late on Tuesday, its parliament agreed to nominate opposition politician Sadyr Zhaparov – freed from prison by protesters just hours earlier – for prime minister, but an angry mob then broke into the hotel where it convened, forcing Zhaparov to flee through a back door, according to Kyrgyz media.

On Wednesday morning, the self-proclaimed People’s Coordination Council set up by several opposition parties said it would not recognize Zhaparov’s interim cabinet and was assuming all state powers itself and dissolving parliament.

A total of 16 parties took part in Sunday’s election and 11 refused to accept the results, which had handed victory to two establishment groups. As protests grew, the election commission annulled the vote.

On Tuesday night, Zhaparov said he would propose a constitutional ref,orm before holding presidential and parliamentary elections in two to three months.

But the split among opposition parties and power grabs by competing factions has plunged the nation of 6.5 million people into uncertainty, reported Reuters adding that residents in the capital, Bishkek quickly formed vigilante neighborhood watch units to reinforce police, having suffered during violent revolts followed by looting in 2005 and 2010.