Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev on Saturday hailed $555 million in debt relief as a sign of foreign trust in his 15-year rule . The mountainous ex-Soviet state on China's border on Sunday holds the second round of a tense parliamentary election that has failed to win a clean bill of health from foreign monitors and comes seven months before a presidential vote. The Paris Club of creditor nations said on Friday it had agreed to cancel $124 million of Kyrgyz debt and it would reschedule a further $431 million -- a significant boost for the impoverished Central Asian state's struggling economy. "It is very important to consider (the debt relief) as an expression of the international community's trust in our ability to guarantee internal stability, further economic growth, and as a mandate to strive to continue strengthening our democracy," Akayev told an audience of Kyrgyz dignitaries. "It is deeply symbolic that the Paris Club decision came at a time when Kyrgyzstan is in the process of electing its highest legislative authority." Akayev has pledged to step down as his final term in office expires in October but his spokesman, speaking shortly after the debt decision, said opposition protests across the country might prompt him to call a referendum on extending his term. The majority of seats in the 75-seat parliament remain to be filled in the second round.
