Kyrgyz court chairwoman proposes amending constitution
3/4/2005 7:46
The chairwomen of the Kyrgyz Constitutional Court Cholpon Bayekova called for
a revision of the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan Saturday to resolve problems
concerning a possible resignation of ousted President Askar Akayev. Bayekova
proposed the possibility of Akayev's resigning outside the country in the
presence of representatives of the Parliament and said the scheduled
presidential election in June will probably take place with or without Akayev's
resignation.
AKAYEV'S RESIGNATION Akayev has verbally
agreed to resign as president, the Interfax news agency quoted the Kyrgyz
parliament speaker as saying Saturday. "A verbal agreement has been received
from the president that he will relinquish power," said Omurbek Tekebayev,
speaker of the newly-inaugurated parliament elected in the disputed polls in
February and March. A Kyrgyz parliamentary delegation headed by Tekebayev
will leave Saturday evening for Moscow to discuss with Akayev the details of his
resignation, the Kyrgyz parliament press service said. Akayev is expected to
sign a resignation document in Moscow, Tekebayev said, adding that the
resignation ceremony in Moscow will be attended by a state notary and the
press. Akayev, who fled to Russia amid opposition protests last week,
suggested in a Russian television interview Tuesday that he might be willing to
submit a formal resignation if his security is guaranteed by the new Kyrgyz
parliament, but new Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiyev rejected Akayev's return on
security reasons. The Kyrgyz constitution stipulates that the president
should return to Kyrgyzstan and announce his resignation to all members of the
Parliament. But Bayekova proposed to revise the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan at
a special constitutional session on Saturday "to prevent instability." She also
said that Akayev's resignation could be signed outside the country as long as it
is witnessed by a notary. "We need a critical approach to the Constitution to
prevent instability. People should be confident of the legitimacy of the
existing authorities," Bayekova said. Bayekova did not disclose how the
Constitution might be amended. Bayekova said Akayev's return and resignation
before the parliament "would be ideal, but we do not want his life to be in
danger. He does not want this either."
PRESIDENTIAL VOTE LIKELY
TO PROCEED AS PLANNED Bayekova also said a presidential election,
scheduled for June 26, would probably take place even if Akayev does not resign
before then. She said the election will be legitimate because the decision
was made by a legitimate parliament. But Felix Kulov, a key opposition figure
believed to be a likely strong contender in the presidential vote, has said
without Akayev's resignation before the parliament in Kyrgyzstan the legitimacy
of the election would be called into question.
Xinhua
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