Kyrgyz parliament meets after government quits
Source: Reuters
By Olga Dzyubenko BISHKEK, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan's parliament convened for a special closed-door meeting on Wednesday, a day after the government resigned in a technical procedure needed to enforce a new constitution adopted after opposition protests in November. New tensions could be sparked in the former Soviet republic when parliament, packed with opponents of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, starts discussing the formation of a new government, officials said. The West is closely watching developments in the Central Asian country, which has been unstable since Bakiyev came to power last year after a coup toppled long-serving predecessor Askar Akayev. The country is home to a U.S. military base. Prime Minister Felix Kulov and his government, which supports Bakiyev, should have resigned immediately after the constitution was adopted on Nov. 9 but stayed in office to change legislation to conform with new laws. Officials have said squabbles between Kulov's government and parliament had blocked efforts to press ahead with reforms in the impoverished country, which is burdened by a huge external debt. Media were not allowed at Wednesday's parliamentary meeting. A parliament official said more than 38 members of the 75-seat assembly were present. Some in the government, which has rocky relations with parliament, called on chamber to dissolve voluntarily but deputies said they had no such plans. Parliament has a right to disband itself at any time if two thirds of its deputies agree to do so. Bakiyev can disband it and call elections only if the chamber fails three times to form a new government, according to the new text of the constitution. In the November standoff thousands of protesters took to the streets of the capital Bishkek after the opposition accused Bakiyev of backsliding on democratic reform and urged him to cede some of his powers to parliament.
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