Kyrgyzstan's security services detain 15 in 'coup plot' ahead of vote

Kyrgyzstan Security services have detained 15 "active members" of a coup plot involving lawmakers and former officials ahead of a parliamentary vote at the weekend.

The detained were part of a plan to get "1,000 aggressive young people" to protest the results of the vote, the state committee for national security said in a statement on Friday.

"After the announcement of the results of the upcoming parliamentary elections...this group planned to organise mass protests in (the capital) Bishkek and subsequently to aggravate the situation, provoking clashes with the forces of law and order and further violent seizure of power," the statement said.

Security services "obtained irrefutable evidence of the criminal activity of a group of persons under the leadership of certain destructive political forces, including deputies of the (parliament) and former high-ranking officials."

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Without naming the detained, the committee also said it had "found and seized firearms, ammunition and drugs" in a raid on the alleged group's office.

Kyrgyzstan, a poor, mountainous Central Asian country which has seen three presidents overthrown since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Instability

The country hopes to avoid further instability as it holds its first parliamentary vote since unrest that brought the current leader, Sadyr Japarov, to power last year.

Japarov's critics have said that the head of state is repeating the mistakes of his predecessors by arresting potential rivals after overseeing constitutional changes that strengthened his position.

The latest round of instability came after parliamentary elections a year ago, when losing parties took to the streets to denounce a vote they said was rigged in favour of parties close to then-president Sooronbay Jeenbekov.

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Protesters seized control of government buildings and hundreds were injured in running battles with police who fired tear gas and water cannon.

The vote results were annulled and current leader Sadyr Japarov, freed from prison during the unrest, was elected president in January.

The vote on Sunday saw 21 parties and hundreds of district candidates campaigning for 90 seats in the single-chamber parliament.