Kyrgyzstan will hold presidential elections in six months, interim leader Roza Otunbayeva said Thursday.

The interim government, which was formed Thursday after President Kurmanbek Bakiyev fled the capital in the face of bloody riots on Wednesday, would function for six months and then new presidential elections would be held, Otunbayeva told reporters.

At a press conference held at the parliament building, Otunbayeva said the Kyrgyz parliament had been dissolved and the new government planned to amend the country's constitution and legislation on elections and political parties to strengthen democracy.

Except for a few provisions, the current national constitution would remain effective before the launching of the new legislative agencies, she said.

The former foreign minister and leader of the Social Democratic faction also said she had ordered a ban on all senior officials of the Bakiyev government from leaving the country.

Until the formal establishment of the new government, regional administrations at various levels should retain their duty, she said.

Otunbayeva also promised to adopt relevant measures for compensation and appropriate mourning ceremonies for the victims of Wednesday's riots.

Deputy head of the interim government's press service, Stamalieva Turdalievna, told Xinhua after the press conference that at present there was no definite date for the new elections, which would be determined later based upon the development of the situation.

On the way back from the parliament building, Xinhua reporters witnessed a massive crowd supporting the former government arriving at the capital. There has been confrontation at the downtown city square.

Bakiyev has reportedly fled to southern Kyrgyzstan.