JURIST - Paper Chase: Kyrgyzstan parliament adopts new constitution

[JURIST] The parliament of Kyrgyzstan [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] voted Wednesday to adopt a new constitution [constitutional materials, in Kyrgyz] that will restrict presidential authority based on a compromise [JURIST report] reached Tuesday. The new constitution creates a presidential-parliamentary government, enlarging the parliament to 90 deputies and enhancing its power. Additionally, the president will no longer have the power to appoint the prime minister, who will now be nominated by the majority party in the parliament.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev [BBC profile] came to power [JURIST report] during the so-called Tulip Revolution [Wikipedia backgrounder] of 2005 in Kyrgyzstan during which former president Askar Akayev [BBC profile] resigned [JURIST report] amid charges of corruption and abuse of office. It is unclear whether Bakiyev will accept the new constitution. Reuters has more.

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