The embattled government of Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has rejected an attempt by opposition lawmakers to rewrite the constitution of the Central Asian state.
After five days of street protests calling for Mr Bakiyev's resignation, opposition lawmakers spent the night drafting a new constitution that stripped him of the power to appoint a government and gave that responsibility to parliament.
"This is nothing other than an open attempt at seizing power through anti-constitutional means," a government statement said today in response to the opposition moves.
Kyrgyzstan's President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
The latest clash is the deepest crisis of Mr Bakiyev's rule. Opposition leaders accuse the president of failing to tackle rampant corruption, crime and poverty and say he has broken his promises too often to be trusted.
The government statement said authorities were "completely in control of the situation" and would guarantee order.
Mr Bakiyev told a news conference he could dissolve parliament if no political solution was found in the stand-off. "I have not set myself the goal of dissolving parliament," he said. "But I have such a constitutional right and of course if contradictions between the legislature and the executive continues what will I have left to do? I cannot watch such an orgy."
Opposition protests in the capital to demand Mr Bakiyev's resignation moved into their sixth day today, with thousands gathering in a central square.
Mr Bakiyev, a former opposition leader, swept to power in March last year after his predecessor Askar Akayev, fled the country when a mob stormed his compound.