The parliament scheduled the presidential elections for June 26, and the first candidates immediately announced the desire to put their names on the ballots, although the legitimacy of the elections had been already doomed by inevitable controversy - formally Akayev had not resigned and therefore remains the legitimate head of the country.
The OSCE has announced that it considered the June presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan premature. Akayev's term expires in October, and previously the elections had been scheduled for approximately that time.
The constitutional controversy is fueled by common sense - how a country can elect a new president while the current president is still alive, although he is currently residing abroad?
"It is a special constitutional case. Akayev has put us all in a difficult position. He must return to the country, sign an official statement and resign," deputy of the upper chamber of the Kyrgyz parliament Dyanysh Rustambekov told RIA Novosti.
Kyrgyz elites quickly realized that they were suspended in the international vacuum - the global community is not in a hurry to officially recognize Kyrgyz interim president Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The international reaction has been limited so far to demands to stop the acts of violence and establish order in the country addressed to the new authorities, rather than expected congratulations with the victory of democracy.
On Saturday morning, Bakiyev joked during a parliamentary session about the escape of the president from the country; although, a couple of hours later he announced during a press conference that the new government would grant indemnity to the president on the run.
The price of guarantees in the revolutionary capital, where all stores hadbeen looted, and the government works under constant threat of assault on the part of dissatisfied voters, is not too high.
Bakiyev himself has been complaining about the fact that he had only two or three functionaries in his office. His popularity among parliamentarians and the public is dwindling by a minute. Politicians call the memorandum he signed "a double-deal." The memorandum contains provisions for the April 14 transfer of power to the new parliament whose majority consists of Akayev's proteges. This fact, by the way, provoked mass disturbances that ultimately led to the collapse of Akayev's regime.
The public accuses Bakiyev of lack of authority, pointing out that he failed to protect the city from looters. Felix Kulov temporarily released from prison became a new idol of Bishkek residents only because he showed the marauders the most convincing argument of authority - the weapons.
"We need a strong hand," state both the revolutionaries, who stormed the government building, and local residents scared by looting.
The discussion in the parliament that continues through Sunday, and where every faction wields the Constitution, threatens to turn into a brawl without the help of voters who have already abandoned the streets.
Apparently, Kyrgyzstan is drowning in political controversy and will not be able to overcome the crisis without international mediators, who might push representatives of all sides, including Akayev, to the negotiation table.
All of a sudden, Akayev is in demand again. His supporters want to see him back at the post in hope to re-establish their status quo. His opponents await his return to accept his official resignation.
Akayev has become a key figure in the dialogue between Kyrgyz political elites fighting for power in the country. Having received Akayev, Russia gained a trump card in international mediation Bishkek desperately needs.
Not all Kyrgyz deputies hurried to pull the pictures of escapedpresident from the walls of their offices.
"What new elections are they talking about if there is a legitimate president of the country? What if Akayev comes back tomorrow with a hundred of gunmen?" ponders Alisher Sabirov, a deputy of both former and current parliaments.
