Kyrgyzstan power play culminates in Sunday constitution vote

President Japarov poised to gain virtually total control in 'huge shift'

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Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov takes part in his inauguration ceremony in Bishkek in January. Just a few months earlier, he was in a jail cell. © Reuters

PAUL BARTLETT, Contributing writer

BISKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- Kyrgyzstan heads to the polls on Sunday for a constitutional referendum, the final act in a power play that has elevated former prisoner Sadyr Japarov to president.

The referendum on changes to the charter is expected to pass easily, bookending a dramatic six months for the impoverished Central Asian nation that began last October with protests over a rigged parliamentary election.

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