Presidential election starts in Kyrgyzstan today.

According to the Central Election Commission of Kyrgyzstan, about 2,872,181 million ballot papers have been issued in the republic, moreover 2,179 million of them are in Kyrgyz and 641 thousand in the Russian language. The polling stations all across the country open at 8:00 AM sharp and will work till 8:00 PM.

At least 49 polling stations in 23 countries have been established for 147 thousand Kyrgyz citizens living abroad.

About 221 polling stations have been reportedly formed in Bishkek.

According to the Bishkek city administration, over 338 thousand voters are registered in the capital.

The presidential election will be monitored by 516 international observers from 48 countries, while about 85 representatives of mass media have been accredited to cover the main political event of the republic in 2009.

The CEC will provide intermediate data about process of the election and voter turnout rates all over the regions every two hours. After closure of polling stations, the commission plans to give the first large press conference between 10:00 PM and midnight.