The resignation of ousted Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev on Sunday cleared the way for the new Kyrgyzstan leadership to gain legitimacy and helped the nation to shift its focus from regime change to presidential elections.

The drastic change, which led to the end of Akayev 's 15-year rule over the mountainous Central Asian state of five million, started with opposition demonstrations in early March which soon spread to the capital and culminated in the seizure of the main government building.

In the past a few weeks, a series of rapid developments that caused the downfall of Akayev's government seemed to have caught everyone, including the opposition camp, off guard.

PROTESTS LED TO UNREST

Allegedly flawed parliamentary elections in February and March were thought to be the direct cause of weeks of unrest.

Official results from the poll, in which voters cast ballots for a new, unicameral, 75-seat legislature, showed the opposition winning only a handful of seats.

Protests broke out in southern town of Jalal Abad March 5 and by March 21 angry opposition supporters had seized regional administrations in Osh and Jalal Abad, the seats of two of the country's seven administrative regions.

The first such demonstration occurred in Bishkek on March 23 but was small and was dispersed by riot police.

March 24 was the day bringing the most significant change as protesters massed in larger numbers, scuffled with unarmed guards and stormed the presidential compound.

The president fled to neighboring Kazakhstan and later to Moscow. Overnight to March 25, mobs ran wild in downtown Bishkek, setting fire to trading centers and looting shopping malls and jewelry stores, killing four people and injuring hundreds.

The interior ministry put the damage at 614 million soms (about15 million US dollars). Many foreign nationals, including Chinese and Turks, were forced to evacuate in large numbers and international flights in and out of the country were canceled for days.

OPPOSITION TAKES CHARGE

With the president gone, top opposition leaders quickly filled the temporary power vacuum and took measures to cement their grip on the country.

The new leadership comprises mainly ex-officials who served under Akayev's presidency. The Supreme Court invalidated the results of the recent elections and reinstated the old bi-chamber parliament which appointed opposition leader and ex-prime ministerKurmanbek Bakiyev as acting president and prime minister.

Bakiyev chose mostly prominent opposition figures for the postsof foreign, defense and finance ministers and prosecutor-general. He also appointed governors of the northern Chui and the southern Osh and Jalal Abad regions.

Felix Kulov, a former interior minister who was released from prison at the insistence of protesters on the day of Akayev's ouster, was put in charge of the country's security forces to end the looting.

With the two-day disorder subsiding after the new authority moved police and security forces onto the streets, the old parliament slated a presidential election for June 26.

ISSUES OF LEGITIMACY RESOLVED

After Akayev fled the country, the issue of parliamentary legitimacy surfaced as two rival parliaments competed for legitimacy.

But the authority of the new parliament was soon established after Kulov and Bakiyev threw their respective weights behind the new convocation. The two chambers of the old parliament ceded power to their new replacement successively.

Then came the question of Akayev's resignation without which the legitimacy of naming an acting president and announcing an election date by the outgoing parliament would be called into question.

To avoid anti-constitutional errors, the new parliament only reappointed Bakiyev prime minister but refrained from confirming him as president.

After days of negotiations, Akayev and the new leadership finally agreed on his resignation abroad in the presence of parliament representatives who would bring Akayev's resignation documents back to Kyrgyzstan and read them before the parliament.

With Akayev's formal resignation on April 3, the opposition government that ousted Akayev more than a week ago finally gained its constitutional footing.

FOREIGN POLICY UNLIKELY TO CHANGE

Top opposition leaders, most of them former government officials, now at the helm have said they will stick to a balancedforeign policy as pursued by the now defunct Akayev government.

The foreign ministry said the country will "develop and cement ties of friendly cooperation with Central Asian countries, Russia,the United States, Germany, China, Japan as well as other orientaland occidental countries".

Efforts will be made to restore the country's international image and attract foreign assistance and direct investment, said the foreign ministry.

Interim leader Bakiyev said Kyrgyzstan remains a member of the international anti-terrorism coalition, and has no plans to revisethe status of Russian and US military bases that it hosts.

The United States maintains an air base at the Manas airport outside Bishkek where an estimated 1,000 troops are deployed. The base provides logistics support for American forces fighting in Afghanistan.

Some 30 kilometers away lies the Russian military base in Kant,inaugurated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in October 2003. The base has about 500 troops.

A SHIFT TO PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

With the new leadership appearing to have secured its hold on the country after Akayev's fall, politicians are gearing up for the presidential elections.

But the June 26 schedule decided by the old parliament is challenged as members of the new parliament have said it is illegal for the old parliament to set such a date.

The new parliament is believed to be in a position to review the issue and is likely to change the election date.

Many senior Kyrgyz politicians have announced their intentions to run in the elections and two are widely expected to be top contenders.

Bakiyev, a southerner who led the opposition to the capital andcurrently serves as acting president, is a hot favorite for the presidency. His major support base lies in the relatively underdeveloped south that is divided from the north by the Tian Shan mountain ranges with only a single road linking the two regions.

The other hopeful is Felix Kulov, from the north, who was acquitted of various charges on Wednesday by the Supreme Court. Hewas jailed for embezzlement and abuse of power by the now ousted Askar Akayev government but released on March 24 from jail by protesters.

He was appointed coordinator of the country's law-enforcement agencies by the new leadership but resigned the post on March 30. He took credit for organizing police and citizen volunteers to suppress the recent looting and restore order.

He once held a series of prominent posts including vice president and interior minister.