Kyrgyzstan has voted to create Central Asia's first parliamentary democracy, partial results showed today, but Russia warned this could allow extremists to seize power following ethnic violence that killed hundreds.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, whose country shares US fears about Islamist militancy in Central Asia, said the political system resulting from yesterday's Kyrgyz referendum could eventually bring the collapse of the country.
At least 283 people, and possibly hundreds more, died this month in violence between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic which hosts US and Russian military air bases and shares a border with China.
Official results of the referendum showed that with almost all votes counted, 90.8 per cent of voters had backed a new constitution paving the way for October parliamentary elections.
Only 7.9 per cent had voted against, according to preliminary data collected from 2,190 of the country's 2,319 polling stations, or 94.4 percent, the Central Election Commission said.
Interim leader Roza Otunbayeva, speaking last night before the first results were known, said Kyrgyzstan -- which lies on a major drug trafficking route out of Afghanistan - had embarked on a path to establishing a "true people's democracy."
But Russia's Medvedev, speaking after a Group of 20 summit in Toronto, pointed out that Kyrgyz authorities could not impose order even at present.
"I do not really understand how a parliamentary republic would look and work in Kyrgyzstan," he said.
"Will this not lead to a chain of eternal problems - to reshuffles in parliament, to the rise to power of this or that political group, to authority being passed constantly from one hand to another, and, finally, will this not help those with extremist views to power?" he said.
"In its current state, there are a host of scenarios for Kyrgyzstan, including the most unpleasant scenario - going up to the collapse of the state," Mr Medvedev said.
His remarks contrasted strongly with Moscow's support for Kyrgyzstan's new government after an April 7 uprising that overthrew President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
Otunbayeva's interim government that took power after the revolt sees yesterday's referendum as a mandate to proceed with its reforms, paving the way to formal diplomatic recognition.
Under the new charter, Otunbayeva - the first woman to lead a Central Asian state - will be acting president until the end of 2011. Parliamentary elections will be held every five years and the president limited to a single six-year term.
The United States and Russia say they would support a strong government to prevent the turmoil spreading throughout Central Asia, a region bordering Afghanistan in which all countries have until now been run by authoritarian presidents.
Reuters