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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000682 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KG
SUBJECT: Kyrgyz Election: Presidential Campaigns Continue 
 
Ref:  A. Bishkek 668 
      ¶B. Bishkek 662 
      ¶C. Bishkek 651 
 
BISHKEK 00000682  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  The Central Election Commission announced 
pairings for the official debates on national radio and television. 
The format for the debates will feature two of the six candidates 
appearing together on three consecutive days -- July 8-10 for the 
radio debates, and July 13-15 for the television debates.  In other 
campaign news, President Bakiyev won the support of former Prime 
Minister Kulov and an MP from the opposition Social Democrat Party. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
CEC Announces Presidential Debate Slots 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) On June 19, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced 
the results of random drawings to assign candidate pairings and time 
slots for television and radio debates.  For the debates on Kyrgyz 
Radio, Jenishbek Nazaraliyev will debate Toktoayim Umetaliyeva on 
July 8, President Bakiyev will debate Nurlan Motuyev on July 9, and 
Almazbek Atambayev will debate Temir Sariyev on July 10.  For the 
debates on state television, Motuyev will debate Nazaraliyev on July 
13, President Bakiyev will debate Umetaliyeva on July 14, and 
Atambayev will again debate Sariyev on July 15.  The television 
debates will be broadcast live, and then re-broadcast a second time. 
 Candidates will also be given blocks of time to broadcast their 
speeches, but the distribution of time slots has not yet been 
publicly announced. 
 
Pairing Sparks Protest 
---------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) After the pairings were announced, Dr. Nazaraliyev 
complained about being paired with Motuyev.  "I have no questions 
for Mr. Motuyev.  I do not know what we can debate about," the press 
quoted Nazaraliyev as saying as he announced he would not 
participate in the television debate. 
 
Bakiyev Picks Up Supporters 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) On June 19, former Prime Minister Felix Kulov announced 
that his party, Ar Namys, had almost unanimously voted to support 
President Bakiyev's candidacy in the presidential election.  Kulov 
had moved to the opposition after serving as Bakiyev's Prime 
Minister in 2005-2006, but since early 2008 Kulov has served in the 
Kyrgyz Government as the Director of Small and Medium Size Energy 
Enterprises.  Kulov also stated that he hoped his Ar Namys party 
would win seats in the next parliamentary elections, which added to 
the current speculation that following re-election in July, Bakiyev 
will dissolve the parliament and call early elections. 
 
¶5. (SBU) On June 22, Social Democrat MP Jusupjan Jeyenbekov 
announced that he would resign his seat and withdraw his Meken 
Birimdigi party from the Social Democrat Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK). 
 SDPK MP Bakyt Beshimov announced the same day that Jeyenbekov had 
reconsidered, but in a meeting with the Parliamentary Speaker on 
June 23, Jeyenbekov confirmed his resignation, and also announced 
that he supported Bakiyev's presidential candidacy.  As the reason 
for his resignation, he said that he could not be involved in 
politics when he needed to help in the search for his son, who 
disappeared last fall.  A contact in the SDPK party refused to 
speculate about other reasons Jeyenbekov may have had for leaving 
the party. 
 
The Campaign Trail 
------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) Following the campaign kickoffs on June 18 (Ref B), little 
has happened on the campaign trail to attract the attention of the 
national press.  After beginning the campaign in Talas Oblast, 
 
BISHKEK 00000682  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
President Bakiyev went to Osh, and next plans to visit Chui Oblast 
in the north.  Temir Sariyev has campaigned in Jalalabad, Batken, 
and Osh Oblasts, and plans to head to Issyk-kul Oblast next. 
Atambayev is currently campaigning in Osh Oblast, and next will go 
to Batken Oblast.  While in Osh, Atambayev garnered some press 
coverage for his claim that the United People's Movement would put 
100,000 people -- about two percent of the Kyrgyz population -- into 
polling places as observers on election day.  The remaining three 
candidates appear to have contained their campaigning to Bishkek to 
date. 
 
LITZENBERGER