Kyrgyzstan Constitution wins overwhelming support

An overwhelming 90 per cent of Kyrgyz voters have given the thumbs up to radical changes in the country's new Constitution, under which they will switch over to parliamentary democracy, even as Russia warned that the Central Asian country could collapse, allowing extremists to take over.

According to preliminary results announced by the Kyrgyz election commission, 90.84 per cent voters approved the amendments to the Constitution, whereas 7.84 per cent voted against it after ballots from 90 per cent of polling stations were counted.

The referendum also approved interim leader Roza Otunbayeva, who claimed power after overthrowing former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, as president until 2011 elections.

Some 2.7 million people were eligible to vote, and turnout was nearly 70 per cent.

Yesterday's referendum followed several days of ethnic violence in the south of the country earlier in the month and 7,500 police were deployed to ensure security during the poll, which officials said passed off with no major disturbances.

Commenting on the Kyrgyz vote, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he was doubtful whether a model of a parliamentary republic would work in Kyrgyzstan.

"I cannot clearly imagine how the model of the parliamentary republic will work in Kyrgyzstan, that it won't provoke a series of problems and encourage the rise to power of extremist forces," Medvedev said in Toronto at a news conference following G-8 and G-20 summits in Canada.

"Kyrgyzstan is confronted by many problems, notably the threat of breaking up. To avoid this you need a strong, well-organised authority," Medvedev was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

Meanwhile, an influential business daily Kommersant today reported that for the time being Moscow is dropping its plans to build a new military base in Kyrgyzstan, as was agreed with the ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

Both Russia and the US already have air bases near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek and the new military base in the south of the country was part of the Kremlin's plans to offset the growing US military presence in Central Asia.

"In the current situation it has been decided that it was too early to return to this idea, at least in view of the extremely tense situation in the south our servicemen could become target of provocations," a 'diplomatic' source was quoted as saying by Kommersant.