by Joldosh Osmanov (02/20/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Kyrgyzstan’s former President Kurmanbek Bakiev and his brother have been found guilty of murdering a former presidential chief of staff and two other people by a Kyrgyz military court. While many local observers are pessimistic about the impact of the court decision on the prospect of Bakiev’s extradition from Belarus, some claim that the ruling still holds political importance.

by Haroutiun Khachatrian (02/20/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Armenia conducted its sixth presidential elections on February 18, 2013. According to the unofficial results published by the Central Electoral Commission early on February 19, the incumbent president Serzh Sargsyan won the election by obtaining 58.64 percent of the votes in the first round. California-born Raffi Hovannisian came in second with 36.75 percent of the votes. The results of the exit poll performed by Gallup Organization, which were published at 8pm on the same day, gave Sargsyan and Hovannisian 58 percent and 32 percent respectively. The results imply that Sargsyan has won his second five-year term as Armenia’s president and will rule the country for another five years. The future plans of Hovannisian, who is the founder of Heritage party, and his team are still unknown.

Some 60.5 percent of registered voters, including Armenian citizens who are in the lists but were unable to vote since they are out of the country, were reported to participate in the ballot-casting. 

by Mina Muradova (02/20/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Azerbaijan’s parliament has adopted legislation amendments that will restrict donations to political parties and public organizations. Civil society organizations consider the new regulations to be crackdown on critical voices in the country ahead of the October Presidential Elections.