Kyrgyzstan election officials said July 27 that President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has overwhelmingly won a second term, taking 76 percent of the vote in the Central Asian country that is crucial to U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.

The Central Election Commission said the main opposition candidate, Almazbek Atambayev, garnered just more than 8 percent.

Opposition parties have dismissed the July 23 presidential election as a fraud. The vote has also come under sharp international criticism.