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# Praise for Kyrgyz voteFive political parties have won seats in Kyrgyzstan's new parliament, clearing the required five percent threshold for the national vote and the minimum 0.5 percent in every region.International observers hailed the vote as democratic and fair. A wide choice of candidates and a vibrant campaign set Kyrgyzstan's election apart from other ballots in Central Asia, monitors said."I have observed many elections in Central Asia over the years, but this is the first election where I could not predict the outcome," said Morten Hoeglund, special coordinator of the OSCE observer mission in Kyrgyzstan.Under recent changes to the constitution, the newly empowered parliament will now have the right to approve a government and appoint a prime minister.But, the success of the vote could also be its downfall after initial results indicated that was no no clear winner. The country, instead, could be heading for political stalemate.The nationalist Ata-Zhurt had a slight lead, but coalition talks seem the most likely option to form a government.A combination of Ata Zhurt, the socialist Ata Meken Party, the pro-Russian Ar-Namys Party and the Respublika Party is seen as a possibility.**Kyrgyz voters are hoping for peace and stability**President Roza Otunbayeva, who came to power in a violent uprising in April and has championed a raft of changes, said the new political system, adopted in a referendum in June that would curtail presidential powers, would make Kyrgyzstan the first parliamentary democracy in Central Asia.Otunbayeva said she would step down next yearImage: AP"Our people do not suffer from amnesia," she said after casting her vote in the capital, Bishkek. "Our people know their history. They will rise quickly to create a parliamentary republic and protect it themselves."Located between Russia, China and Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan has been ruled by a series of authoritarian leaders since the breakup of the old Soviet Union.