(Adds comments on violations, polls closing, details)

By Olzhas Auyezov

BISHKEK, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan voted on Sunday in a snap parliamentary election expected to hand President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's party a landslide victory but which the opposition quickly condemned as rigged.

Home to a U.S. and a Russian military airbase, the former Soviet state has been volatile since 2005 when a disputed parliamentary election triggered mass protests that ousted veteran leader Askar Akayev and brought Bakiyev to power.

The opposition has accused Bakiyev, a liberal compared with his more hard-line Central Asian neighbours, of backsliding on democracy and abusing power in favour of his Ak Zhol party.

"Just as we expected, the authorities resorted to massive power abuse," said Omurbek Tekebayev, head of the opposition Ata Meken party.

Ata Meken said it had registered cases of forced voting and ballot stuffing in at least two Kyrgyz regions.

The central election commission has not commented on the allegations. Polling stations closed at 8:00 p.m. (1200 GMT).

Bakiyev was elected in a 2005 vote praised by Western monitors. But a constitutional referendum in October, which extended his presidential authority, was criticised by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Potential unrest in Kyrgyzstan is a worry to Russia and the West as it might spill over into other Central Asian regions.

Bakiyev dissolved the outgoing chamber, packed with some of his fiercest Akayev-era opponents, in October. He says a less unruly parliament will lead to stability.

"I am sure our new parliament will not be like the one before," he said after casting his ballot in the capital Bishkek. "Either way it will be a new and productive parliament.

His Ak Zhol party also accused its rivals of cheating. "Voters were offered vodka by unknown people who said they were from the Social Democratic party in exchange for their votes," it said in a statement.

WARY VOTERS

Election authorities barred two main opposition candidates from the ballot papers on the eve of the vote, in what the opposition said was a thinly veiled attempt to silence them.

Hundreds of voters formed long queues in front of courts in Bishkek after not finding their names on voter lists. Some said they feared their lost votes may have been abused.

More than 250 observers from the OSCE's election monitoring arm were watching the vote. The mission is due to announce its assessment on Monday after preliminary official results.

Turnout was 61.5 percent two hours before voting stopped.

Bakiyev has promised to press ahead with reform in the impoverished nation after the election, but the opposition leaders accused him of trying to bar them from getting into parliament altogether.

"It seems the plan is to have one team in parliament that would vote unanimously," said Almazbek Atambayev, the leader of the Social Democrats.

But, tired after years of unrest, voters said they wanted a stronger presidential hand for the sake of stability.

"People trust them (Ak Zhol) so I trust them too," Aibek, a man in his 20s who sells goods at a market in Bishkek, said. "They can bring some stability." (Writing by Maria Golovnina; Additional reporting by Olga Dzyubenko)

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