Osh:
Kyrgyzstan began voting under tight security on Sunday in a referendum on a new Constitution amid fears the poll could spark a resurgence of deadly inter-ethnic violence.
Polling stations are to close at 8:00 pm (local time) and first results are expected on Monday.
Authorities on Saturday had cancelled a curfew in the southern city of Osh, the epicentre of violence which killed at least 275 people, to pave the way for the vote.
The referendum is the centrepiece of the interim government's blueprint for Kyrgyzstan after the ousting of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in April riots, and officials have said the latest violence was aimed at derailing the vote.
The deadly clashes between the majority Kyrgyz and minority Uzbek populations forced tens of thousands from their homes and prompted the imposition of a round-the-clock curfew in the region.
"The situation in the south of Kyrgyzstan is still tense but there are not the kind of events that make it impossible to stop the curfew for one day," said Kyrgyzstan's interim leader Roza Otunbayeva.
"We have the capacity to ensure the security of people in the referendum," she told reporters in the capital Bishkek.
The new Constitution - if adopted - will significantly reduce the powers of the president and make the former Soviet republic Central Asia's first parliamentary democracy.
The referendum will set the stage for parliamentary elections that authorities have scheduled for early September in an effort to bring in a permanent government as quickly as possible.
In Osh, many residents have vowed to cast their votes, although others said it was too early to hold the poll.
"I will go and vote so that life gets better and these events are never repeated," said Aftanguel Aidaraliyev, a Kyrgyz resident of Osh, where banks and shops reopened after the end of the curfew.
But fellow resident Ogozgul Bektanova said: "The situation has still not normalised. I will not go and vote, I am not ready for that and the city is not ready either."
While Otunbayeva has urged a "yes" vote, observers have warned that the referendum is dangerous at the current time.
The government's decision to proceed with the referendum threatens to make the situation "even more volatile", Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Saturday.
Polling stations are to close at 8:00 pm (local time) and first results are expected on Monday.
Authorities on Saturday had cancelled a curfew in the southern city of Osh, the epicentre of violence which killed at least 275 people, to pave the way for the vote.
The referendum is the centrepiece of the interim government's blueprint for Kyrgyzstan after the ousting of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in April riots, and officials have said the latest violence was aimed at derailing the vote.
The deadly clashes between the majority Kyrgyz and minority Uzbek populations forced tens of thousands from their homes and prompted the imposition of a round-the-clock curfew in the region.
"The situation in the south of Kyrgyzstan is still tense but there are not the kind of events that make it impossible to stop the curfew for one day," said Kyrgyzstan's interim leader Roza Otunbayeva.
"We have the capacity to ensure the security of people in the referendum," she told reporters in the capital Bishkek.
The new Constitution - if adopted - will significantly reduce the powers of the president and make the former Soviet republic Central Asia's first parliamentary democracy.
The referendum will set the stage for parliamentary elections that authorities have scheduled for early September in an effort to bring in a permanent government as quickly as possible.
In Osh, many residents have vowed to cast their votes, although others said it was too early to hold the poll.
"I will go and vote so that life gets better and these events are never repeated," said Aftanguel Aidaraliyev, a Kyrgyz resident of Osh, where banks and shops reopened after the end of the curfew.
But fellow resident Ogozgul Bektanova said: "The situation has still not normalised. I will not go and vote, I am not ready for that and the city is not ready either."
While Otunbayeva has urged a "yes" vote, observers have warned that the referendum is dangerous at the current time.
The government's decision to proceed with the referendum threatens to make the situation "even more volatile", Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Saturday.
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