Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev on Monday signed a decree dissolving parliament and called for early elections, according to news reports from the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

 

Bakiyev set the parliamentary elections for December 16, said a presidential spokesman.

 

The president's move followed a referendum on Sunday, in which over 75 percent of the voters approved constitutional changes, while 3.69 percent voted against it, according to the central electoral commission.

 

Kyrgyzstan, which hosts both Russian and US military bases, has suffered years of instability since 2005 when a revolt toppled former Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev and brought Bakiyev to power.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2007)