The United Front led by Felix Kulov, a former presidential ally in the 2005 coup, was formed in February following Kulov's resignation. The movement has issued an ultimatum to President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to sign a draft constitutional law delegating part of his powers to parliament by April 6.
"If the president agrees to early presidential elections and immediate constitutional reform, it will guarantee us that he will not use the administrative resources in his favor," the ex-premier said, adding this would open the way for negotiations with the president.
The draft constitutional law, the third in the impoverished Central Asian republic in the past few months, stipulates that the prime minister shall be appointed by parliament, and ministerial candidates coordinated with the president.
Kulov previously said "power will be peacefully transferred on April 11", the date of mass protests promised by the opposition.
President Bakiyev appointed a liberal opposition leader, Almaz Atambayev, new premier in late March, and instructed him to form a coalition government. But opposition members refused to join the new government, saying it would change nothing, so some posts are still vacant in the Cabinet.
But Atambayev, former leader of the For Reform movement, was upbeat about the situation and said Wednesday the president had nearly fulfilled all the liberal opposition demands.
"The list of our demands included constitutional reform, a coalition government and the reform of state television - nearly all these demands have either been, or are being met," he said.
Meanwhile, about 100 radical opposition supporters have gathered on the central square of Bishkek, the capital, to begin a mass hunger strike.
Kulov told journalists the number of the people could have been higher but "we do not want to risk their health."
Beknazar Urumov, a participant in the strike, said: "We are simple people, we are not politicians, and we came here freely, not for money or by force, we came here to defend an idea." He also said women aged 19-65 were the majority on hunger strike.
Opposition protests last fall resulted in the adoption of a new constitution that delegated much of the president's authority to the legislature, effectively turning Kyrgyzstan into a parliamentary republic. In December, however, parliament voted in another constitution draft, which returned to the president virtually all previously ceded powers.
