Kyrgyzstan may have new elections if no party gets five pct

BISHKEK, October 7 (Itar-Tass) - If none of Kyrgyzstan's 29 political
parties receives five percent of votes over the parliamentary elections
due on October 10, there will be another round of the elections,
Kyrgyzstan's Chairman of the Central Election Commission Akylbek Sariyev
said on Thursday.
"Technically this scenario is possible, and then we shall have to
organise another round of elections," he said.
There are over 2.86 million voters in Kyrgyzstan. However, with the
high level of labour migrants, not many parties will be able to be
supported by five percent.
"This is something not only me, but other parties, are concerned
about," he said.
It will be necessary for a party to get at least 0.5 percent of
registered voters in every of the country's seven regions to get a seat in
the parliament.
The upcoming elections will be considered valid no matter how many
people come to vote. As a big number of parties chose to take part in the
elections, the ballot is 70 centimetres long.
"The 29 parties is a small part of the 150 parties, which are
registered in the country," he said. "Nobody may forbid a party to take
part in the elections."
Every election station will display information on every party in the
elections both in the Russian and Kyrgyz languages.
Sariyev commented on the situation before the elections, saying that
"as yet there were no major scandals, but the last three days before the
election day will prove how much the parties have been controlling
themselves."
The emotional tension of the competitors may cause a conflict any
moment, he added.
Kyrgyzstan's 29 parties compete for 120 seats in the parliament.
Experts forecast only 6-9 of them may be supported by the minimum of five
percent.