The appearance of the self-defense units is the second time this year that civil society has been forced to hold the line. Where the state repeatedly fails to live up to its obligations, volunteers step in.
The rapid ascendancy of Japarov, who was sprung from prison in the wake of a violent bout of rioting this week, has hinged entirely on a strategy of intimidation executed by hordes of aggressive supporters bussed into the capital.
Since independence, votes in Kyrgyzstan have been contested more toughly than those in its Central Asian neighbors. But competitive does not always mean clean.
