Sadyr Japarov the frontrunner in Kyrgyzstan's presidential election, has won by a landslide, official results show. The Central Election Commission said Mr Japarov had won 79% of votes cast.
Mr Japarov, who served time in jail for taking a rival hostage, will also have sweeping new presidential powers after voters by a similar margin opted to amend the constitution in a referendum.
Kyrgyzstan has been in crisis since parliamentary elections last October.
The results of those elections were disputed, leading to protests and the resignation of then-President Sooronbay Jeenbekov.
In a victory speech at his campaign headquarters in the capital Bishkek on Sunday, Mr Japarov promised to rule the country with an open government free of corruption.
"We will not repeat the mistakes of the previous government," he said. "Over the past 30 years, corruption has taken root in our country in almost every area of our life - from now on, we will not tolerate such outrageousness."
He also said he would aim to "rectify" Kyrgyzstan's economic issues "within three to five years". The country has seen surging unemployment in recent years, forcing many young people to look abroad for work.
