Leader of the provisional Kyrgyz government Roza Otunbayeva was given presidential power on Wednesday until elections are held in the country.
The government adopted a decree that delegates power to an interim president until December 31, 2011. The document named interim Premier Otunbayeva as the provisional president, but also envisaged a nationwide referendum on the issue as an option.
The decree stipulates the provisional president may not participate in the forthcoming presidential elections. From now on Otunbayeva has no right to "be a member of a political party, must keep political neutrality and refrain from any actions supporting political parties."
The interim government is currently discussing the final draft of the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan. A referendum on the new Constitution is slated for June 27.
The interim government took power in Kyrgyzstan on April 7 after mass protests. Ex-president Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled the country and later resigned. He has taken refuge in Belarus.
BISHKEK, May 19 (RIA Novosti)
