BISHKEK, May 19 (RIA Novosti) - Former Kyrgyz defense
minister Ismail Isakov announced on Tuesday his exit from the
presidential election race, in a bid to unite the opposition
behind a single candidate ahead of the July 23 polls.
Gen. Isakov, also a former secretary of the Central Asian
country's security council, resigned last October in protest
against government policies. He told reporters he has stood
down in favor of presidential candidate Almazbek Atambayev.
"Given the situation surrounding the upcoming presidential
polls, and desperate attempts by the authorities to split the
opposition and disorientate voters, I took a decision to
withdraw from the election campaign in favor of the single
candidate of the United People's Movement," Isakov said.
Isakov, who came to power together with President
Kurmanbek Bakiyev after the 2005 "tulip revolution", called on
opposition members to "discard their ambitions, material
interests and whims in the name of unity and common goals."
A total of 18 candidates, including the incumbent leader,
whose term expires this October, were registered as
presidential hopefuls by Kyrgyzstan's Central Election
Commission on Monday night.
Bakiyev, 59, who is widely expected to be comfortably
reelected, was initially elected for a four-year term, but the
constitution was later amended to extend the term to five
years.
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