Kyrgyzstan president endorses blockchain for elections

Sadyr Japarov believes that this is the only way for the country to have fair elections

The acting President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov suggested that the country’s election commission employ the capabilities of blockchain technologies to streamline the election process. Japarov stated his belief that only this modern technology would pave the way for fair presidential and parliamentary elections.

“We have had three revolutions because of unfair elections. If this continues, the unrest and the revolutions will continue. From now on, everything will be fair. I consulted with the Central Election Commission and offered them to introduce blockchain technology“, Japarov stated.

The newly appointed President and Prime Minister had until recently, been serving an eleven-year prison term for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of a public official. All throughout, Japarov maintained that he was wrongfully accused and framed for the crime due to political motivations.

Japarov believes that should everything go as planned, the blockchain technology can be launched in as soon as three to six months. He explained that it is his belief that blockchain can help the country combat bribery and political unrest resulting from rigged elections in Kyrgyzstan.

The country, which is a landlocked republic of 6.5 million people, has been the site of extreme political volatility throughout its three decades of independence. Earlier this month, the capital city of Bishkek saw a series of mass protests take place against the act of vote buying in parliamentary polls. In these demonstrations, at least one person was killed and more than 1,000 have been injured in violent clashes between the protestors and the police.

Japarov was also recently accused of intimidating the former President Sooronbai Jeenbekov, to which Japarov stated that “only those who are involved in corruption” would be afraid of him.

Jeenbekov stepped down on Thursday, October 15, after a series of violent demonstrations erupted regarding the parliamentary election results. Jarapov, who was released from jail during the protest and was later appointed as the prime minister by Jeenbekov in an attempt to calm down the protests, has declared himself the leader of the central Asian nation.

While the country’s elections use modern technology, such as fingerprint scanning and electronic scanners that are connected to a central server, fraudulent practices persist—even during this month’s election.

Across the globe, the West African nation of Sierra Leone has become the first country to conduct an election through a voting system that is based on blockchain technology. Russia has also expressed its intention to launch a pilot project based on blockchain voting.