More than 1,000 people have rallied in the streets of Kyrgyzstan to protest against the government of Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the nation's president, ahead of a July presidential election.Opposition protesters chanted "Down with Bakiyev" and other anti-government slogans and waved the red and green flags of the opposition parties as they demonstrated in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, on Friday.
The demonstrators accused Bakiyev's government of rampant corruption and said the president had failed to implement economic reforms.
"The president has not fulfilled any of his promises ... he must stop political repression immediately," said Ismail Isakov, an opposition leader.
Opposition politicians have said they will particpate in the presidential elections scheduled for July 23, despite believing they will be neither free nor fair.