Azernews.Az

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said at a press conference Dec. 11 that he hopes the country’s people will support the amendments to the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan, KyrTAG news agency reported.

He emphasized that the election and referendum in Kyrgyzstan are currently being held in an open and transparent manner.

“Now my greatest hope and dream is that the people of Kyrgyzstan show awareness and support the amendments to the Basic Law,” he said. “God grant that not less than 30 percent of voters support the new constitution.”

It was previously reported that it was proposed to make 30 amendments to the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan.

Voting as part of a referendum to make amendments to the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan and elect members of local councils started at 08:00 (UTC/GMT+6) on Dec. 11.

The amendments, in particular, envisage strengthening the prime minister’s powers in relation to the parliament of Kyrgyzstan. The amendments also cover the regulations of the Constitution relating to high values – human rights and citizenship.

During the referendum, citizens can vote "for" and "against" all amendments as a whole. It is impossible to choose some amendments out of a list of amendments. The referendum will be declared valid if more than 30 percent out of 2.851 million citizens included in the electoral lists cast vote.

The voting will last until 20:00 (GMT+6).