Kyrgyzstan To Change Constitution To Offer PM More Power

Kyrgyzstan will be making some changes in its constitution to strengthen the office of price minister. A referendum was held and 79.6 percent of the 42 percent voters supported it voting on Sunday.

A turnout of just 30 percent is required for such changes through referendum.

Since independence in 1991 the country has overthrown two of its presidents.

Critics of President Almazbek Atambayev claim the referendum result could allow him to become prime minister and retain much of his power. His presidential term will end in 2017.

It is also learned the changes will ban same-sex marriages in the country.

Since the end of Soviet Union the country has altered its constitution repeatedly by referendum and the recent one was in 2010 when more power was handed to parliament and curbed the authority of the president.

In 2014 Kyrgyzstan evicted the US air base from its soil that supported military operations in Afghanistan. However, the country is still hosting a Russian air base that is part of a Moscow-dominated economic and security alliance of ex-Soviet nations.