BISHKEK - Kyrgyzstan's interim President Kurmanbek Bakiyev called Thursday for substantial constitutional changes aimed at separating powers among various branches of government in the wake of veteran leader Askar Akayev's chaotic ouster last month.
Addressing an assembly that is looking at constitutional questions as the new authorities try to stabilise the country, Bakiyev proposed shifting substantial powers from the president to the parliament, giving parliament the power to approve or reject cabinet nominees.
He resisted calls for a wholly parliamentary system however, instead proposing a "presidential-parliamentary republic."
"We need to redistribute powers among the various branches in order to prevent power being usurped in the hands of a single person in future," Bakiyev said.
The proposals could satisfy many of those wanting a more democratic and stable system following the looting and disorder that accompanied the departure of the country's first post-Soviet leader Akayev on March 24.
Bakiyev said an element of proportional representation should be reintroduced at parliamentary polls, with 40 percent of parliamentary seats elected proportionally and the size of parliament increased from 75 to 95 seats.
In another major shift, he said members of parliament should no longer have immunity from prosecution, a factor that critics say hopelessly discredited this spring's parliamentary polls that sparked Akayev's ouster, as shady business figures sought the safety of a parliamentary seat.
The proposals fell short of those put forward by the man seen as Bakiyev's strongest rival at presidential polls set for July 10, former security chief and Bishkek mayor Felix Kulov.
Kulov has called for a mainly parliamentary system with the president given very limited powers.
While Bakiyev said the constitutional changes should occur after the presidential polls, Kulov has said the constitution should be reformed first.
Bakiyev, a trained electrician and former prime minister, faces a major challenge stabilising the country after a break-down in law and order following Akayev's departure and continued protests in the capital and elsewhere.
He has vowed to honour Akayev-era agreements with both Moscow and Washington under which Russia and the United States both have airbases in the country, located some 25 kilometres (15 miles) apart.
In addition to institutional changes, Bakiyev called for the full abolition of the death penalty, which is currently the subject of a moratorium, and in its stead the introduction of life imprisonment.
04/28/2005 15:34 GMT