THE entire government of the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan has resigned after President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced a sweeping reform plan of the state apparatus, officials say.
The wholesale resignation of the government overnight, including the prime minister, was the latest political upheaval to hit ex-Soviet Central Asia's most volatile state since an uprising overthrew its former rulers in 2005.
"Today the full cabinet submitted its resignation in connection with President Bakiyev's government reform announced today," government spokesman Marat Kadyraliyev said.
Mr Bakiyev gave a speech earlier calling for a major restructuring of the Kyrgyz government.
The outgoing government, led by Prime Minister Igor Chudinov, had been in place since December 2007.
Mr Bakiyev said he was satisfied with the work of Mr Chudinov and his ministers but that they had to step down in connection with his reform plan.
The plan alters the cabinet's structure and redefines the roles of various ministries and agencies, including the GKNB security service, the Kyrgyz successor to the Soviet KGB, which will lose its cabinet-level status.
"The country needs a contemporary, compact and effective secret service with socially necessary functions, and not a law-enforcement agency with the functions of a secret service," Mr Bakiyev said.
He accepted the government's resignation.
The ruling Ak-Zhol party said it would discuss the candidacy of the ex-head of the presidential administration and former mayor of the capital Bishkek Daniar Usenov as the new prime minister.
Parliament is expected to debate the candidacy tomorrow. Mr Usenov was known as Bishkek mayor for clamping down on demonstrations in the capital.
The Kyrgyz parliament is overwhelmingly controlled by Bakiyev allies and is likely to approve any nominee put forward by the president's party.
Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished former Soviet republic, hosts an air base used by the United States military to supply international operations in Afghanistan, as well as a Russian military base.
In July, Mr Bakiyev was re-elected in a vote that Kyrgyz opposition parties and Western election monitors said was marred by widespread fraud.
Kyrgyzstan is the most politically volatile state in ex-Soviet Central Asia and Mr Bakiyev himself came to power in a popular uprising, the so-called "Tulip Revolution" of 2005, which overthrew his predecessor.
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