Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Temir Jumakadyrov, 38, was killed in a vehicle accident on October 7 west of the country’s capital Bishkek. The vehicle he was riding in collided with a KamAZ truck.

Jumakadyrov was overseeing preparations for the October 15 presidential vote to elect a successor to outgoing President Almazbek Atambayev. At the time of the accident, Jumakadyrov was reportedly traveling to Talas region as he was tasked with inspecting polling stations ahead of the election.

Jumakadyrov was appointed deputy PM in September after Deputy Prime Minister Duishenbek Zilaliyev was removed from his post for calling on government workers in the city of Batken to vote for ex-Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov, who represents Atambayev’s Social Democratic Party.

The Kyrgyz president, in office since 2011, is barred by the constitution from running for a second term. While Atambayev has repeatedly stated his intention to pursue no further political office, his critics suspect he hopes to appoint his own loyal prime minister and possibly manipulate the presidential election in favour of his chosen candidate.

Atambayev’s recent crackdowns on opposition members and media, including a number of arrests, raise concerns that Kyrgyzstan is moving away from the democratic path set out following two revolutions in 2005 and 2010 and may face another violent regime change, which some analysts say could potentially cement the country as a failed state.

The ex-Soviet country has already fallen back into the category of consolidated authoritarian regime, according to Freedom House’s Nations in Transit 2017 report.

Campaigning for the presidency of the landlocked country of six million officially got under way on September 10 with a total of 13 candidates registered for the election.