Kyrgystan's new constitution wins overwhelming approval
World
Kyrgystan's new constitution wins overwhelming approval
More than 90 percent of Kyrgyz voters approved a new constitution in Sunday's referendum, official results showed on Friday. The Central Election Commission said 90.55 percent of the voters voted for the new constitution and 8.07 percent voted against, with 1.38 percent of votes being invalid.The referendum, the vote of all the people to adopt the constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic and the law that will bring the constitution into effect and the drafts that were proposed by the interim government have been recognised, said Central Election Commission head Alkybek Sariyev.A total of 2.72 million registered voters cast their ballots, which meant a turnout of 72.24 percent, Sariyev told reporters.Kyrgyzstan went ahead with a constitutional referendum last Sunday to create a parliamentary democracy and give legitimacy to the interim government that took power after former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in April.Roza Otunbayeva has been registered as a President of the Kyrgyz Republic and will be given the presidential identification, pin and state flag of the Kyrygz Republic, Sariyev said.The essence of the new constitution is to transfer the country from a presidential system to a parliamentary democracy.Otunbayeva will be sworn in as the country's president on Saturday, the interim government announced earlier.Otunbayeva, a former ambassador to the United States and Britain, took power after a revolt in April overthrew President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Though from the south, she has struggled to gain control of the region, Bakiyev's family stronghold. Last month at least 294 people were killed in ethnic clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbek in the southern portion of the country, triggering a wave of refugees towards neighbour Uzbekistan. Life has been slowly returning back to normal, but the situation remains tense.
