Kyrgyz leader to OK charter

The parliament of Kyrgyzstan approved a new constitution Wednesday that sharply reduces the powers of the president, in what his critics called the second step of a democratic revolution in the former Soviet state.

President Kurmanbek Bakiyev agreed to the document during a day of tense negotiations and was expected to sign it today. He has been under pressure from seven days of anti-government street protests and a shift to the opposition by growing numbers of lawmakers.

Bakiyev came to power last year in a largely nonviolent people’s uprising that was dubbed the Tulip Revolution for the flowers that were in bloom at the time. But many former supporters turned against him, saying they were disappointed by a failure to crack down on corruption and nepotism.

“The events of the past week are stage No. 2 of the Tulip Revolution,” Edil Baisalov, a leader of the For Reforms protest movement, said in a telephone interview from Bishkek, the capital. “Today, we had a celebration, fireworks, in our square....We can say that democracy has much more potential now in Kyrgyzstan.”

Baisalov and former parliament Speaker Omurbek Tekebayev, head of the For Reforms movement, were key figures in the protests last year that put then-opposition leader Bakiyev into power by prompting former President Askar A. Akayev to flee the country.

If Bakiyev signs the new constitution, Kyrgyzstan will become the first former Soviet Central Asian state in which parliament exercises strong checks on presidential powers and has the dominant role in choosing the prime minister.

Among other measures, the new constitution would shift control of the National Security Service from the president to the parliamentary-approved Cabinet.

State Secretary Adakhan Madumarov, who submitted the draft constitution to parliament on behalf of Bakiyev on Tuesday evening, pledged that the president was prepared to sign it once it won approval, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

The constitution was approved by 65 of the 68 deputies present in the 75-seat legislature, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported. At least 51 votes were required for passage.

Tekebayev told journalists that under the new constitution, both the president and members of parliament would serve out their terms, Interfax reported.

Baisalov said the protesters, who have another rally scheduled for 11 a.m. today, had not decided whether to consider their mission achieved for now or to immediately push further demands, such as a transformation of state-run television into a public entity less susceptible to political influence.

“Do we need to take this victory and go home, or do we need to take this victory and press for more?” he said. “We will decide tomorrow in the morning at our rally.”

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david.holley@latimes.com