Kyrgyzstan’s interim president Roza Otunbayeva praised the election process as “free, democratic and open.”

“We have not had such elections in the last two decades. All Kyrgyz citizens in cities and villages came to polling stations and without any pressure, any dictate, without any 'merry-go-round' and other illegal election schemes could vote for the parties which they consider strong and fair and which can protect their interests in the parliament," Interfax quoted Otunbayeva.

Surprisingly, the highest turnout (more than 66%) was registered in the city of Osh, which was the centre of political turbulence and violence not long ago.

Interior Minister Zarylbek Rysaliev stressed in his interview to Itar-Tass that the police maintained tight control over the elections. He did not rule out, however, that “destructive forces” might try to destabilize the situation after the election.

“There have been rumors that such attempts are possible, so we are taking precautions,” he noted.

According to Akylbek Sariyev, head of the Kyrgyz Central Election Commission, the voting finished “without serious incidents”. He also vows that no complaint will not be investigated.

While officials and observers have not reported any significant violations in the elections, representatives of some parties have accused local authorities of improperly using administrative resources. They have also promised to prove their statements about large-scale violations.

Several parties who took part in the elections had organized an alternative count of ballots to prevent possible fraud.

The elections in Kyrgyzstan are believed will bring about a long-awaited peace to the country, after it suffered heavy clashes between the Kyrgyz population and ethnic Uzbeks in the southern cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad following the ousting of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

However, Andrew Mcentee, former OSCE observer in Kyrgyzstan, believes that a parliamentary-based government system may not lead to stability in the region.

“The curious situation is that, somehow in the political culture it is felt that while the power is being taken away from the presidency and given to the parliament, nevertheless, the prize is still the presidency. Besides, the immediate neighbors – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan – would rather see the project of creating a parliamentary-based government system fail,” Mcentee told RT.