Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev threatened on Tuesday to dissolve parliament after opposition lawmakers tried to rewrite the constitution.

After five days of street protests calling for Bakiyev's resignation, opposition lawmakers spent the night drafting a new constitution that would strip Bakiyev of the power to appoint a government and give that responsibility to parliament.

The Central Asian government denounced the move as "an open attempt at seizing power through anti-constitutional means." Bakiyev said he did not want to dissolve parliament but he might have no choice.

The crisis is the deepest of Bakiyev's 16-month rule. Opposition leaders accuse the president of failing to tackle rampant corruption, crime and poverty and say he has broken his promises on reform too often to be trusted.

A government statement said authorities were "completely in control of the situation" and would guarantee order.

Opposition protesters waving flags marched again on Tuesday on the Kyrgyz White House, a seven-story Soviet-era building which houses the offices of the president and his government.

Unlike on Monday, when police guarding the building went over to the protesters' side, a heavy troop presence was visible outside.

Two water cannon stood waiting, along with more than 100 regular troops and several dozen commandos in black balaclavas carrying weapons.

A Reuters correspondent at the scene said the protesters' numbers appeared to be smaller than on Monday, with around 2,000 present. All were keeping away from the fence surrounding the White House.

A counter-demonstration of 300 to 400 pro-Bakiyev supporters gathered near parliament holding banners saying "Let the president work."

A mountainous ex-Soviet country of 5.2 million people that borders China, Kyrgyzstan is home to both U.S. and Russian air bases. It is part of a Central Asian region where Washington, Moscow and Beijing jostle for influence.

Bakiyev swept to power after his predecessor Askar Akayev fled the country in March 2005 when a mob stormed his compound.

Bakiyev on Monday replaced his interior minister in an apparent attempt to appease the protesters.

But the opposition were not satisfied. Lawmakers gathered in the 75-seat parliament and unilaterally declared themselves a constituent assembly. They then put their signatures to their draft of a new constitution.

A parliamentary spokesman said 38 of the chamber's 75 deputies had signed the new draft constitution, enough for a simple majority.

The government said the document was not valid. Kyrgyz law states that any changes to the constitution must be approved by at least 51 members of parliament and then subject to a three-month review by the Constitutional Court. It does not allow for the creation of a constituent assembly.

The opposition said they were justified in bending the rules because the crisis demanded quick, decisive action.

PHOTO CAPTION

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev speaks in the parliament in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2006. 9 (AP)