Voting of Kyrgyz presidential election begins

BISHKEK, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Kyrgyzstan kicked off on Thursday morning the fifth presidential election since its independence in 1991.

Voting of the election began at 8:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) in 2,281 polling stations all over the country.

There are six candidates on the ballot, including incumbent President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and opposition candidate Almazbek Atambayev, the former prime minister.