Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced Thursday he would present a new prime minister nominee to the parliament after his previous choice was thrown out, Kyrgyzstan's Kabar news agency reported.

During talks with Parliament Speaker Marat Sultanov and acting Prime Minister Felix Kulov, the president said he would present a new nominee, after his nomination of Kulov had been rejected twice by the parliament.

Bakiyev said that a new cabinet was urgently needed to handle domestic issues such as the drafting of the 2007 budget.

The Kyrgyz parliament rejected for a second time a bill from Bakiyev to reinstate Kulov. The lawmakers first denied the nomination on Jan. 18.

Sultanov has said that even though the president would have liked to nominate Kulov for a third time, the parliament would not give approval.

Kulov's government resigned on Dec.19 last year in a technical procedure to put a new constitution on hold, after opposition protests in November.

Following Kulov's resignation, Bakiyev demanded amendments to the constitution in a bid to end the country's political crisis.

On Dec. 30, the parliament approved a new draft, which gives the president more power within a transitional period until 2010, including the right to name a prime minister.

According to the new draft, a third rejection would lead to automatic dissolution of parliament and new legislative elections.

However, many deputies said that the new constitution has not fully taken effect and the president does not have the power to dissolve the parliament.

(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2007)