Underworld forces

Kyrgyzstan -- The belly laugh moment came during my interview with the diminutive candidate, an ex-judo champion, when he accused his opponent of voting fraud. Sanshar Kadyralev, 29, was calling for the electoral commission to not certify results from four polling stations, thereby ensuring his victory by a slim margin.

His opponent, who did not have a brigade of thugs and fled to the safety of the capital after the polling, was leveling similar counter-charges. Later, at the election commission office, some of Sanshar's men were contesting the results. The election commissioner, a small middle-aged woman, was visibly frightened. How could she resist -- and why would she put her family at risk over such a trifle as a parliamentary seat?

Knowing that Sanshar was a local crime boss controlling the Karasuu market, the largest in Kyrgyzstan, and various gambling and strip clubs, it was hard to credit his pained expressions of indignation. He was cagey about his backers and political network, but did finally admit that he was in contact with the nation's leading crime boss, Ryspek Akmatbayev (since slain).

Perhaps such occupational hazards explain why Sanshar was fidgety and nervous during the interview and why security was so tight. Young politicians like him with close ties to organized crime are dubbed the "karate kids," on account of their making it more on their command of brawn than policies. They rise quickly, but tend to have short-lived careers. Such is the price of encroaching on the turf of the underworld's Chechen "aristocracy."

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