By empty (7/10/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Kyrgyzstan\'s acting President and presidential candidate Kurmanbek Bakiyev said the early presidential elections being held on Sunday will be fair and transparent. \"For the first time in recent years, elections offer each citizen the right to choose,\" Bakiyev told journalists at a polling station. \"Our citizens have an opportunity to support the leader they think is best for the country.
Kyrgyzstan\'s acting President and presidential candidate Kurmanbek Bakiyev said the early presidential elections being held on Sunday will be fair and transparent. \"For the first time in recent years, elections offer each citizen the right to choose,\" Bakiyev told journalists at a polling station. \"Our citizens have an opportunity to support the leader they think is best for the country. No one is putting pressure on anyone. There haven\'t been any threats or instructions how to vote. My campaign showed that despite a heat wave, voter turnout will be high on July 10,\" Bakiyev said. \"I\'m sure the presidential elections will be fair and transparent, and will fully comply with the national election code and requirements of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,\" he said. Bakiyev thanked the UN, the OSCE and the European Union for providing material and technical assistance in organizing the early elections. \"I hope a worthy president will be elected today,\" he said. Bakiyev said the situation is quiet in Kyrgyzstan. (Interfax)