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| - The acting premier of crisis-stricken Kyrgyzstan picked a new police chief on Sunday, ignoring lawmakers who are contesting his legitimacy. Elected in an extraordinary session of parliament on Saturday, Sadyr Japarov was serving a jail term for hostage-taking until early last week. Supporters freed the nationalist politician from prison after demonstrations over disputed parliamentary elections in the crisis-prone ex-Soviet country on October 4 descended into violence. The polls saw parties close to President Sooronbay Jeenbekov claim the most seats after reports of mass vote-buying. One person was killed and more than 1,000 were injured in clashes with police and between rival factions as central government all but lost control. Electoral authorities annulled the vote last Tuesday. Several lawmakers have opposed Japarov's election on Saturday, saying it violated parliamentary law because of a failure to assemble a quorum. "None of the decisions made by (Japarov) as the prime minister of the Kyrgyz Republic have legal force," deputy speaker Aida Kasymaliyeva wrote on Facebook on Sunday . She added that she had received threats from a lawmaker loyal to Japarov. The acting premier has yet to be confirmed by Jeenbekov -- who himself is embroiled in a protracted power struggle . Immediately after his election as acting PM, Japarov said he expected the embattled president to resign "in two to three days". If he does, Japarov would become acting president. In the meantime however, Japarov signed an order on Sunday appointing a new interior minister, Ulan Niyazbekov, after the previous police chief resigned following the outbreak of unrest. Jeenbekov has not commented on Japarov's election but said Friday that he could resign once order is restored and a new government is formed. Unrest in Kyrgyzstan has added to the concerns of ally Moscow as Belarus is rocked by post-election protests and clashes have broken out over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Kyrgyzstan has had two presidents overthrown by street protests since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Residents were trickling back into cafes and strolling down a leafy central thoroughfare in the capital Bishkek on Sunday, an AFP correspondent saw. tol-cr/am/gd
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