Kurmanbek Bakiyev has been negotiating with opposition leaders since they announced earlier this week that they will stage mass street protests Thursday if he does not agree to delegate some of his powers to the legislature through constitution reform.
The opposition accuses Bakiyev of failing to deliver on his promises to crack down on corruption and raise living standards in the impoverished ex-Soviet republic since he came into power in 2005, following the deposition of his long-standing predecessor, Askar Akayev.
Opposition activist Melis Eshimkanov said at a late-night press conference Tuesday: "Talks with the president will follow their due course, while the rally will continue until we bring about radical reforms."
He said the sides reached an oral agreement that Kyrgyzstan should become "a parliamentary republic," but the president insisted no constitutional reform should take effect until 2010.
As for the opposition's other demands, including ones related to the fight against corruption and nepotism, Eshimkanov said they "remained hanging in the air," adding that "he [Bakiyev] promised to think them over and asked us [the opposition] not to pressure him."
Half of parliament's members said they will join Thursday's rally, demanding that the country's president and prime minister step down.
In a statement released Wednesday, legislators said: "We call on President Bakiyev and Prime Minister [Felix] Kulov to file their resignations, for the nation's sake, if they do not submit a new draft Constitution November 2."
They said the government has failed to improve the situation in the country since coming to power in March 2005.
"The national economy works to enrich just one family, and lawmakers who talk about this openly are subjected to pressure and intimidation," reads the statement.
Eshimkanov said that between 25,000 and 40,000 opposition activists and supporters from across the country are expected to take part in Thursday's street protests in central Bishkek, due to begin at 2 p.m. local time [9 p.m. GMT].
He also said that the opposition has credible evidence the government is preparing provocations.
"They have pulled 500 commandos from the southern provinces into Bishkek. We also know that about 1,500 women ready to start provocations during the rally are converging on Bishkek."
On Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy to Kyrgyzstan appealed to its staff and other locally based American nationals to display utmost caution during the street protests, which it said might grow into large-scale unrest.
Stability in the Central Asian republic has been a source of concern in Washington since it opened an airbase outside Bishkek to support its counter-terrorism campaign in neighboring Afghanistan in 2001.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called on Kyrgyzstan's government and opposition to seek a negotiated solution to their standoff, and offered its assistance in brokering a compromise agreement.
