HISTORY EVEN ENDS IN THE STANS:

Kyrgyz vote in historic parliamentary election (PETER LEONARD, 10/09/2010, AP)

After casting her ballot in the capital, Bishkek, President Roza Otunbayeva said she was confident the vote would proceed without incident.

“The whole election process has been transparent and open, which will deprive troublemakers the right to whip up political hysteria,” she said.

Kyrgyzstan, which hosts a strategically vital U.S. air base near Afghanistan, is set to embrace a parliamentary system of governance. This marks a sharp departure from the strongman model exercised under President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who was ousted in April amid violent public demonstrations over stagnant living standards and corruption.

Heading to cast his ballot a polling station at the agriculture institute in the southern city of Osh, 49-year old history teacher Ermek Suleimanov said the vote was a momentous turning point for the country.

“If in the past voting was just a formality, now we will find out who the people really want to lead them,” Suleimanov said.