Tag Archives: politics

BISHKEK, FEB. 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Omurbek Babanov registered himself as a candidate for the Ata-Zhurt party in this year’s presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan, the second former PM to declare his intention of standing.

Mr Babanov was PM for eight months under President Almazbek Atambayev in 2011/12. He follows former PM Temir Sariev as declaring his candidacy early ahead of the election planed for November.

Like his rival, Mr Sariev, Mr Babanov, 47, had been forced to resign as PM in August 2012 over corruption allegations.

Both will be competing to replace Mr Atambayev who is stepping down after a single five year term, as stipulated by the constitution. Observers have said the vote could be one of the few genuinely competitive elections in Central Asia since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)

Kazakh court charges ex-economy minister with corruption

ALMATY, FEB. 13 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — In a major blow to Kazakhstan’s image as a business-friendly country, prosecutors charged former economy minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev with stealing 1b tenge ($3.1m) from a project to build a glass sheet factory.

Mr Bishimbayev, previously seen as one of a group of high-flying members of a new generation of Western-educated Kazakh bureaucrats, is the highest-profile official to be arrested in a crackdown on corruption linked to Baiterek Holding. Baiterek owns stakes in businesses on behalf of the Kazakh government. Before being made economy minister in May 2016,Mr Bishimbayev had been head of Baiterek. He was sacked on Dec.28 2016 and later arrested.

Prosecutors said the 36-year-oldMr Bishimbayev, who had studied at George Washington University under a scheme paid for by the Kazakh government, had received $2m from the scam in theKyzlorda region of southern Kazakhstan.

“Funds were stolen through an affiliated company called Metal Plant Construction under the guise of payment for meals and accommodation of workers,” the anti-corruption office said in a statement.

Metal Plant Construction had supposedly been contracted by OrdaGlass and Shymkenthimmontazh.

For Kazakhstan, the bribe-taking scandal around Baiterek and OrdaGlass is doubly embarrassing as the factory had been touted as proof that cutting-edge factories could operate effectively in Kazakhstan.

Stewart Engineering, a US-based company, had been contracted to help build the glass plant. It has not been linked to the corruption charges. Construction work was started in 2015 but has slowed and the plant has still not been built.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)

UNM protesters march in Georgian capital

FEB. 14 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Police in Georgia detained 13 people during a rally organised by the United National Movement party (UNM), the party of the exiled former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili. The demonstration, outside the city hall, was attended by 100 people and had been called to voice support for the Rustavi-2 TV station which they accuse the government of trying to control.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)

Uzbekistan requests extradition for Karimov nephew

FEB. 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Uzbekistan has put in an extradition request with the authorities in Ukraine for Akbar Abdullaev, the nephew of Islam Karimov, local media reported. Abdullaev was arrested by Ukrainian authorities when he flew into Ukraine in mid-January. Uzbek prosecutors have accused him of money laundering. Critics of the government have accused it of trying to silence the Karimovs, who ruled Uzbekistan for 25 years until his death in September. Gulnara Karimova, his daughter, is under house arrest. Mr Abdullaev is the son of Karimov’s wife’s sister.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)

Turkmen leader wins another seven years in power

FEB. 12 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov won a presidential election in Turkmenistan with 97.7% of the vote, improving, even, on the 97.1% he won in 2012.

This is Mr Berdymukhamedov’s third presidential election victory in Turkmenistan. He has ruled since 2007 and this latest win gives him another seven years in power.

Critics have said that the election was fraudulent and that Mr Berdymukhamedov did not face any real opposition as the candidates running against him all supported his policies. Turkmenistan was officially a one- party state until 2012 when the first multi-party elections were first run. In essence, though, they have been show-elections with Mr Berdymukhamedov set up to win.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)

Armenia’s first president to stand in election

FEB. 15 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Armenia’s first post-Soviet president between 1991 and 1998, confirmed that he will head a party list for the Armenian National Congress (ANC)-People’s Party of Armenia alliance at parliamentary elections in April. Mr Ter-Petrosyan, 71, cuts a controversial figure. He still commands support from loyalists and considers current president Serzh Sargsyan to be his great opponent. In 2008, he was blamed with whipping up anti- government sentiment amongst a crowd that ended with clashes with police and the death of at least 15 protesters.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 317, published on Feb.17 2017)f

Turkmens prepare for election

FEB. 10 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — People in Turkmenistan prepared to vote in a presidential election set for Feb. 12 that observers said incumbent president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov would win easily. Human rights and free media activists in Europe and the US have used the election to highlight what they have said is a lack of basic human rights in Turkmenistan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)

Azerbaijan applies to host UEFA Champions League in 2019

FEB. 3 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Baku has applied to host the 2019 UEFA Champions League final, one of the world’s most-watched sporting events, at its Olympic Stadium. Baku’s Olympic Stadium is already one of the designated hosts for the 2020 European Football Championship. If Baku did win the right to host the 2019 UEFA Champions League final, Azerbaijan would be the first country to host it without ever having had a team compete in it.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 316, published on Feb. 10 2017)

Independent news reporting on China's Belt and Road Initiative

Tag Archives: politics

Georgian court frees two men imprisoned for 11 years

9 parties/blocks to fight election in Armenia

Second former Kyrgyz PM registers for November’s presidential election

Kazakh court charges ex-economy minister with corruption

UNM protesters march in Georgian capital

Uzbekistan requests extradition for Karimov nephew

Turkmen leader wins another seven years in power

Armenia’s first president to stand in election

Turkmens prepare for election

Azerbaijan applies to host UEFA Champions League in 2019