BISHKEK: Thousands of protesters massed in Kyrgyzstan’s capital on Thursday demanding the resignation of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, whom they say has backtracked on promises of democratic reforms. Police held back crowds waving red opposition flags outside parliament and chanting “Bakiyev resign”. The demonstrators then marched to nearby Ala-Too Square which holds thousands of people. The impoverished former Soviet republic has teetered on the brink of political crisis since Bakiyev came to power in 2005 after riots ousted his long-serving predecessor, Askar Akayev. Bakiyev won a landslide election victory but his popularity has plummeted since. The opposition accuse him of presiding over corruption and failing to raise living standards in this mainly Muslim nation of 5.2 million. Police said 5,000 to 6,000 people had gathered in the central square although a Reuters reporter at the scene estimated there could be three times that number. “Bakiyev was elected to carry out reforms. He has done nothing in a year and a half,” one of the main opposition leaders, Omurbek Tekebaev, told the demonstrators. “We didn’t simply elect him, we needed him to make reforms.”