BISHKEK - Kyrgyzstan's parliament Wednesday again delayed for a day a vote on sealing the resignation of its toppled president Askar Akayev.
"The session is delayed by one day until tomorrow. The majority of the parliament did not want to discuss the issue of the president's resignation and listen to his message to the parliament. They decided to do so only in the presence of members of the constitutional court and members of the cabinet," parliament press office head Emil Niyazov said.
Parliament had been expected to listen to the recorded message from Akayev on Tuesday and then to vote on accepting his resignation offer made Monday in Moscow, where he is taking refuge.
However, this was put off when too few deputies turned up to make the vote valid.
Among those failing to attend the session on Tuesday were deputies from the delegation that went to Moscow to negotiate Akayev's resignation, sparking accusations from some opponents of political intriguing.
Akayev, 60, fled Kyrgyzstan on March 24 in the wake of opposition protests over what critics said were rigged parliamentary elections. A new presidential election has been set tentatively for June 26.
04/06/2005 07:59 GMT