Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced Thursday he would
present a new prime minister nominee to the parliament after his
previous choice was thrown out, Kyrgyzstan's Kabar news agency
reported.
During talks with Parliament Speaker Marat Sultanov and acting
Prime Minister Felix Kulov, the president said he would present a
new nominee, after his nomination of Kulov had been rejected twice
by the parliament.
Bakiyev said that a new cabinet was urgently needed to handle
domestic issues such as the drafting of the 2007 budget.
The Kyrgyz parliament rejected for a second time a bill from
Bakiyev to reinstate Kulov. The lawmakers first denied the
nomination on Jan. 18.
Sultanov has said that even though the president would have
liked to nominate Kulov for a third time, the parliament would not
give approval.
Kulov's government resigned on Dec.19 last year in a technical
procedure to put a new constitution on hold, after opposition
protests in November.
Following Kulov's resignation, Bakiyev demanded amendments to
the constitution in a bid to end the country's political
crisis.
On Dec. 30, the parliament approved a new draft, which gives the
president more power within a transitional period until 2010,
including the right to name a prime minister.
According to the new draft, a third rejection would lead to
automatic dissolution of parliament and new legislative
elections.
However, many deputies said that the new constitution has not
fully taken effect and the president does not have the power to
dissolve the parliament.
(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2007)
