A referendum on June 27 on the adoption of a new constitution in Kyrgyzstan will be a test of public confidence for the interim government, a senior Kyrgyz official said on Thursday.
If it comes into force, the new constitution will change Kyrgyzstan from a presidential to a parliamentary republic, reducing the power of the president.
"This isn't just a referendum on the constitution; it will also be a vote of confidence in the interim government," deputy head of provisional government Omurbek Tekebayev said.
"If the Constitution is not approved, the last basis of our legitimacy - the trust of the people - will disappear," he said, adding that if this happened, the political repercussions would be "unpredictable."
Kyrgyzstan's interim government led by Roza Otunbayeva took power on April 7 amid violent protests in which more than 80 people died. Ex-president Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled the country and later resigned. He has since taken refuge in Belarus.
Presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan are to be held in October, 2011 and the new Kyrgyz leader will come into power the following January. Until then, Otunbayeva will have presidential powers.
The Constitution offers a "concept of a state which knows no analogues in Central Asia," Tekebayev said. "We will be pioneers and hope we will be able to create a new political system in the region," he said.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the former socialist republics in Central Asia have been largely ruled by authoritarian leaders.
Bakiyev, who came to power after the overthrow of President Askar Akayev in the peaceful 2005 Tulip Revolution, has been charged in absentia with abuse of power.
BISHKEK, May 20 (RIA Novosti)
