Bakiyev, whose victory was widely expected, is set to formally replace Askar Akayev, who was ousted as the ex-Soviet Central Asian country's president earlier this year in a popular revolt.

Results published on the commission's website, set up to provide constantly updated information on the vote's preliminary results, gave Bakiyev an overwhelming lead, having secured 87.98 percent of the votes counted thus far.

There were still 52.4 percent of the total votes to be counted, but the result was not expected to change.

Turnout among the country's 2.6 million eligible voters reached 74.6 percent, well above the minimum required 50 percent, the central electoral commission said.

Bakiyev was a leading figure in the March revolt and was named interim president the day after president Akayev fled.

In subsequent weeks he secured a deal clearing the field of his main rival, Felix Kulov, who dropped out of the race on a promise that he would be made prime minister.

Bakiyev faced five relative unknowns in Sunday's election, including a moderate Islamist.

The vote was being closely watched by the outside world as a potential landmark event -- the first time any of the Central Asian former Soviet republics has had a change of leader, except during a bloody civil war in Tajikistan in the mid-1990s.

But the weeks since Akayev's ouster have seen a continued wave of instability across the country, including violent protests.

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