Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan  - Incumbent Kurmanbek Bakiyev is set to coast toward a second term Friday amid allegations of irregularities in Kyrgyzstan's presidential elections.

The Central Election Commission said in the capital, Bishkek, that Bakiyev, 59, was receiving more than 90 per cent of the votes with about one-third of the ballots from Thursday's election counted.

His strongest competitor, opposition leader Almasbek Atambayev, 52, a former premier, was receiving 5.7 per cent of the voters in the poor Central Asian republic.

Turnout among Kyrgyzstan's 5 million voters was 79.3 per cent, the commission said.

Atambayev on Thursday called the vote illegal and withdrew his candidacy, demanding new elections. The commission refused to cross him off the ballot list.

Opposition groups claimed the vote was rigged in favour of Bakiyev, a charge denied by authorities.

Atambayev was celebrated as the "true election winner" by hundreds of supporters Thursday night. The opposition said it was to take legal steps against the election outcome but Atambayev and the other four opposition candidates were to refrain from calling for mass protests for the time being.

The Kyrgyz authorities had previously announced a crackdown on any illegal protests.

A report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe listed a series of campaign violations by the Kyrgyz authorities, saying state media predominately promoted the president.

The organization deployed more than 200 election monitors. It promised a first assessment of the way voting was carried out at 0900 GMT Friday.

Bakiyev, whose re-election was widely expected, was elected to the presidency of the Central Asian republic four years ago after a popular uprising that forced then-president Askar Akayev to flee the country.

Thursday's election was closely watched by both the United States and Russia.

Pro-Russian Bakiyev announced in February the closure of the only US military base in Central Asia, which is located in the country and serves as a major transit hub for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Also in February, Russia offered the impoverished nation a 2- billion-dollar loan, and after a June parliamentary vote to keep the US base open, Moscow and Bishkek entered talks over opening a Russian base. (dpa)