Polls opened in Kyrgyzstan today under tight security as voting began on a referendum on a new constitution amid fears the vote could spark a resurgence of ethnic violence.
Roza Otunbayeva, the interim leader, was one of the first to vote, arriving in a motorcade at Osh State University early this morning.
Smiling and appearing relaxed in a bright purple jacket, she cast her vote inside.
“People are voting for stability, for a legitimate government,” said Ms Otunbayeva. “A lot of people say today that we are a failed state on the brink of huge change. In this referendum, people want to prove that this country is united.”
The referendum is the centrepiece of the interim government’s blueprint for Kyrgyzstan after President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in April.
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It calls on voters to support changes to the constitution that would devolve power from the president to a prime minister, paving the way for parliamentary elections in October and diplomatic recognition for the interim government.
Security forces were on a high security alert for the vote, with around 80,000 police officers and an equal number of defence volunteers deployed.
At least 275 people were killed and tens of thousands were forced from their homes in the violence earlier this month between majority Kyrgyz and minority Uzbek in southern Kyrgyzstan.
On Saturday, authorities cancelled a curfew in Osh, the epicentre of the violence, to pave the way for the vote.
The United States and Russia said they would support a strong government to prevent the turmoil spreading throughout Central Asia, a strategic region bordering Afghanistan that, with the exception of Kyrgyzstan, is run by presidential strongmen.
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Ms Otunbayeva needs the vote to establish the legitimacy of the interim government, which has never been voted in.
The violence has deepened divisions between the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks who have a roughly equal share of the population in the south. Many ethnic Uzbeks say they were targeted in the violence and are loath to support what they see as a Kyrgyz initiative.
Others are still barricaded inside their neighbourhoods in Osh, afraid to venture out. Ms Otunbayeva said in an interview on Friday that security forces would deliver ballot boxes directly to the homes of ethnic Uzbeks.
“The situation in the south remains extremely tense and unpredictable, with ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek residents having largely retreated into ethnically near-homogenous areas,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement.
In Bishkek, where constitutional change is widely expected to find support, the national anthem blared from loudspeakers inside a polling station to mark the start of voting at 8am.(2am GMT). Most of the early voters were elderly.
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“A state cannot exist without fundamental law, so we have to put an end to this chaos,” said Olga Shushpanova, 84, after she cast her ballot. “I’ve been living here since 1950. I want to see order, peace and a prosperous Kyrgyzstan.”
Saikal Oshurahunova, 18, was voting for the first time. “I am a patriot and I have come to vote for Kyrgyzstan’s good and stable future,” she said.
Talgat Zhanuzakov, 23, a computer engineer, said: “I am not sure if my vote matters, but all the same I decided to vote. I want to see prospects of growth and of a prosperous life.”