A referendum under the Constitution takes place in Kyrgyzstan

On Sunday morning, a popular referendum on a new constitution project proposed by the President of the country Kurmanbek Bakiev began in Kyrgyzstan, RIA Novosti reports.

One of the main differences between the new draft of the Basic Law of Kyrgyzstan is the election of the parliament of the republic exclusively on party lists. It is proposed to increase the number of deputy places to 90 instead of today's 75. To pass into the legislative body of the party, it will be necessary to gain at least five percent of votes.

The Prime Minister will be appointed by the party, which scored over 50 percent of the mandates. If it does not turn out, the president can choose any of the parties presented in the parliament and instruct her to nominate the head of the office.

In addition to the Constitution, a draft of the election code was also submitted for a popular discussion.

The referendum started at 8.00 local time (6.00 Moscow time). 2200 polling stations opened in the country. They will work until 20.00. The voting progress is observed by 130 international observers consisting of 17 delegations. Citizens of Kyrgyzstan located in Russia will also be able to take part in the referendum. For this, three polling stations are open: in Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk.

If the country's population votes for the version of the Basic Law proposed by Bakiev, this will be the fourth constitution in the country over the past two years. In 2006, the Kyrgyz Constitution changed twice. The first time - in November, when mass rallies of the opposition were going on on the central square of the capital. On December 30, the Basic Law, under the pressure of pro -presidential forces, was again changed towards a significant strengthening of the powers of the head of state.

In early September of this year, the Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan recognized the process of adoption by the Parliament of the November and December constitutions illegitimate. As a result, the country returned to the basic law of 2003. The Constitutional Court found that the Constitution adopted in 2003 could only be changed by the decision of the referendum.

If voters approve the new version of the Constitution, the government will resign and early parliamentary elections will be assigned.