BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz lawmakers have failed to elect a new speaker of parliament in the first round of a secret vote.
Two candidates -- Kanat Isaev of the Kyrgyzstan party and Bakyt Torobaev of the Onuguu-Progress party -- received 51 votes each in the April 20 vote.
At least 61 votes are needed to be elected speaker in the 120-seat parliament.
Both candidates were withdrawn from the ballot after the results were announced.
A second round of vote will be organized after lawmakers nominate new candidates.
The previous speaker, Asylbek Jeenbekov, resigned last week after his brother, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, was nominated as the Central Asian nation's prime minister.
