The aftermath of the Kyrgyz parliamentary elections dominated this week’s coverage. Despite official results not being expected for some time, the overwhelming victory by the President’s newly created party Ak Zhol was widely reported.

The question of whether the largest opposition party, Ata Meken, should have any seats at all was the main point of contention. It failed to secure the required 0.5% of support by eligible voters in every region, a prerequisite to having candidates from its list enter parliament. On Tuesday the Supreme Court ruled the 0.5% requirement invalid, though doubts have been raised as to whether this will have any effect. Many outlets reflected the view that Kyrgyzstan has effectively entered a new phase as a one-party state and the US sharply criticised the poll. Ata Meken has promised protests, though they are unlikely to match those of the famous Tulip Revolution, which ousted the previous president, Askar Akayev.

The Uzbek presidential election also loomed large. The BBC described the population as being ‘resigned‘ to Islam Karimov’s re-elction. It also highlighted the high level of censorship in Uzbekistan itself, which, though ever present, is particularly significant in the light of Karimov’s bid for an illegal third term.

In other news, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan signed a deal with Russia cementing their commitment to press ahead with a Caspian sea gas pipeline. Kazakhstan is angling for a more favourable contract with international companies involved in the development of the Kashagan oilfield, according to the Financial Times. And in Tajikistan, drugs workers are calling for more sympathetic policies towards addicts in an attempt to stem HIV/AIDS and rising crime.

The next news digest will be on 4th January 2008.

With the Kyrgyz elections on Sunday, there was coverage of the poll on many sites, including the BBC, which included a Q&A on the Kyrgyz political situation. Reuters also posted a “factbox” on the election and elsewhere suggested it had been engineered to ensure the president had a “docile” parliament. AFP reported on the opposition’s claims of dirty tricks though OSCE observers, of whom there were around 250 in the country, have yet to issue an election report.

Uzbekistan has its own election just round the corner, but for this week reporting focused on other matters. Craig Murray, former UK ambassador to the country, is launching his book “Murder in Samarkand” in the US under the title “Dirty Diplomacy”. Meanwhile, the Asian development bank said it would provide the Uzbek authorities with a loan of $30m to invest in its educational infrastructure. Malaysian oil company Petronas has signed a deal with the Uzbek government allowing it to explore an area of 7200 square kilometres in the country.

Petronas also made an agreement with the Turkmen authorities which will allow it to begin building oil platforms and share in pipeline construction. USA Today reported on the Turkmen president’s speech at an investment forum, in which he suggested that investors were willing to plough as much as $4bn into his Caspian coast development project.

Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan moved further towards realising the Caspian pipeline project this week, with Russia approving a cooperation agreement hammered out with leaders of the central Asian nations according to ITAR-TASS. The Financial Times reported Kazakhstan’s attempts to reassure investors after eight local banks were given poor ratings by an international agency.

Tajikistan made it into the news this week because of a bill to tackle fortune-telling and witchcraft. The BBC, USA Today and Reuters all covered the story.

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The Kyrgyz election campaign has once again been hit by controversy this week with a leading opposition candidate barred from standing because he posted a copy of the ballot card on his website. According to the Institute of War and Peace Reporting, TV stations, including the state broadcaster, have been accused of pricing less well-off parties out of the running because of the high cost of election advert slots.

Islam Karimov’s bid to secure a third term in the Uzbek presidential election is the subject of a feature on Russia Profile, which picks out some of the regime’s recent abuses. BBC news highlights the death, apparently after being tortured, of a third prison inmate while the New York times revisits Alisher Saipov’s assassination in Kyrgyzstan, pointing the finger at the Uzbek authorities. New Consumer summarises an Environmental Justice Foundation report which flags Uzbekistan up as using child labour in its cotton harvest.

Turkmenistan’s president Berdymukhammedov met his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, on Thursday at the start of a state visit widely seen as an opportunity to discuss proposals for a gas pipeline routed through Iran. Earlier in the week it emerged that French company Total had been in discussions with the president over possible investment in the country. But in a timely article on EurasiaNet, Aisha Berdyeva wonders how long Ashgabat will be able to keep on good terms with all of those courting it.

Amid warnings that Gazprom will pass central Asian price hikes on to European consumers, Kazakhstan showed no sign of currying favour with either customers or investors. The Kazakh prime minister insisted it had the right to intervene in major energy projects, while a finance minister warned of an oil tax crackdown, according to the Financial Times.

Tajikistan, which is to receive OSCE help on border security, celebrated a Japanese pledge to provide aid to bolster various infrastructure projects. Chinese Zijin mining group is set to invest $100m in developing gold mines in the country over the next three years.

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This week it was confirmed that Russia would pay 30-50% more for gas from Turkmenistan from 2008. Associated Press suggests that the rise was agreed to by Russia as an incentive to Turkmenistan to push ahead with a pipeline project in the Caspian. There are fears among Russia’s neighbours about the knock-on effect of the rise, as the state-owned Gazprom is likely to pass the increase on to its customers, among them Ukraine.  Hot on Turkmenistan’s heels, Uzbekistan is also talking about the possibility of raising the price of gas exported to Russia.

In Kazakhstan, the dispute over the Kashagan oilfield shows little sign of being resolved. The Kazakh government’s latest demand is for the consortium, led by Italy’s Eni, to pay $7bn of compensation for the delay. The investment climate in Kazakhstan is unlikely to become more friendly anytime soon – Reuters reports that a tax on oil revenues will be imposed from 2009.

December is set to be a historic month for the region as both Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan go to the polls. The Kyrgyz prime minister resigned this week in what is being interpreted as a signal of his displeasure over the way President Bakiyev has handled preparations for the poll. Opposition leader Almaz Atambayev, was drafted into government to help broaden its appeal. His departure is set against the background of a general unease over the way the election has been managed.

Doubt has been cast over Kazakhstan’s bid to become chair of the OSCE in 2009. Instead, the 56-member body, which carries out election monitoring, is expected to offer Kazakhstan a postponement until 2010, in return for dropping any preconditions linked to the country’s democratic status. Kazakhstan became a one-party state in August.

There was dispiriting news for Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan this week, as the UN ranked them 117th and 116th respectively in the Human Development Index - making them the two least developed of the post-Soviet states. The UN Population Fund carried a report on female self-immolation in Tajikistan. Many newly-wed women are driven to despair after being forced to live with their in-laws when their husbands go abroad to find work, it says.

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