Kyrgyzstan vote to test stability of region's political oddball Storming through a crowded bazaar in ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek, presidential candidate Toktayim Umetalieva is in her element. Unlike the two male contenders viewed as favourites to win the presidential election on October 15, 55-year-old Umetalieva is no newcomer to the ballot, but she will be running as a rank outsider. Kyrgyzstan's presidential polls will have 12 candidates on the ballot. With its political upheaval and noisy election campaigns, Kyrgyzstan is the odd man out among Central Asia's five ex-Soviet states, where there are various degrees of entrenched authoritarianism. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES