News / Asia

New Kyrgyz Constitution Takes Effect

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A new constitution took effect in Kyrgyzstan Friday, as officials announced the final results from the country's referendum.

Central Election Commission official Akylbek Sariyev said over 90 percent of voters on Sunday backed the new charter, which establishes Kyrgyzstan as a parliamentary republic.

Sariyev said interim leader Roza Otunbayeva was officially approved as interim president until the end of 2011.  She is expected to be sworn in during an inauguration ceremony on Saturday and parliamentary elections are set for October 10.

Kyrgyzstan's interim government has struggled to impose order since it took power following the April 7 deadly uprising that ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.

An estimated 2,000 people were killed during ethnic clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks that erupted in  June in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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