Conduct of Kyrgyzstan referendum praised

International observers praised Kyrgyzstan's constitutional referendum, saying the vote was conducted in a transparent and remarkably peaceful manner despite a lingering climate of fear after ethnic purges.

While the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) recognised some shortcomings, its approval was the final stamp of legitimacy for the interim authorities who came to power after President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted in mass protests in April.

More than two thirds of the 2.7 million eligible to vote in the Central Asian nation overwhelmingly approved a new constitution that reduces presidential power and hands more authority to parliament. The referendum was seen as a barometer of national trust in interim President Roza Otunbayeva's rule.

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Many feared the referendum would reignite the kind of violence that saw hundreds of ethnic Uzbeks killed and many thousands more displaced earlier this month.

Shortcomings the group noted included a lack of safeguards against multiple voting, with voters not always checked for ink, and polling panels at times being unaware of procedures.