Three of the five parties that won seats in the October elections are represented in the new government. Their leaders were already in power under ousted President Bakiyev. Bomb explodes in capital yesterday.

Bishkek (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Kyrgyzstan's parliament gave the green light to a coalition government, which includes three of the five parties that won seats in last October’s elections. Many in the Central Asian nation hope this will open a new chapter in the country’s history after former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was thrown out of office in April. However, the country is still faced with major problems. Yesterday a bomb exploded in the capital Bishkek, killing four people. Tomorrow, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected on a visit

Central Asia’s first democratically elected parliamentary government includes the Social Democratic Party (26 seats), led by the next prime minister Almazbek Atambayev (pictured), Respublika (23 seats) and Ata-Meken (18 seats).

Ata Zhurt, a nationalist party believed to be close to the ousted president, has the largest number of seats (28) but is out of power. The same is true for Ar-Namys (25 seats).

Mr Atambayev was second in President Roza Otumbayeva’s interim administration after Bakiyev’s ouster. Respublika leader Omurbek Babanov will be Atambayev’s deputy. Both men were respectively deputy prime minister and prime minister under Bakiyev.

Setting up the government was difficult because of major differences between the parties. Only 40 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots for the five parties now represented in parliament. Other parties failed to reach the 5 per cent minimum for seats.

The country is confronted with major problems, starting with the difficult economic situation, widespread poverty and serious ethnic divisions that led to violence in the southern regions in May. At that time, nearly 400 people, mostly minority Uzbeks, were killed and hundreds of thousands forced to flee.

Ethnic Uzbeks claim the military helped ethnic Kyrgyz attack them. The military claims Uzbeks set up an armed resistance.

On Monday, four suspected Islamist militants were killed in the southern city of Osh by security forces.

On Tuesday, an explosion in the Kyrgyz capital wounded two people outside the site of a court hearing for the country's deposed leader and other former officials.

• kyrgyzstan
• new
• government
• atambayev
• otumbayeva
• bakiyev