Thousands of election posters and billboards have cropped up across Kyrgyzstan ahead of the October 4 vote for parliament. Photographer Alimjan Jorobaev documents the curious dissonance between electioneering optimism and real life.
A new party wants to be the voice of the urban intelligentsia. Alongside overhauls of the constitution, court system and security services, Reforma seeks to stop politicians with dubious work histories from obtaining state positions.
Since independence, votes in Kyrgyzstan have been contested more toughly than those in its Central Asian neighbors. But competitive does not always mean clean.