A leading Kyrgyz parliamentarian and businessman was shot dead close to the main government building in the capital, Bishkek, police said, highlighting instability in the ex-Soviet state.The assassination comes a month before a presidential election to vote for a successor to President Askar Akayev who was ousted after violent protests against a flawed parliamentary poll earlier this year. Police chief Omurbek Suvanaliyev named the parliamentarian as Zhirgalbek Surabaldiyev, but gave no further details. \"There could be various motives for this crime ranging from redistribution of property to politics,\" said parliamentarian Kubatbek Baibolov, who ran to the scene with 30 other deputies from the nearby parliament building. \"The criminal world feels the weakness of state power and so they start feeling like masters in our house.\" A corpse covered with a white cloth lay on the pavement. Police could be seen holding a pistol -- apparently the murder weapon -- in a transparent plastic bag. Criminal violence is common in Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished Central Asian state on China\'s border. Surabaldiyev owned the country\'s biggest second-hand car market, a significant business interest. He was also the head of the Kyrgyzstan Business Union, a grouping of entrepreneurs. Surabaldiyev\'s driver was injured in the attack and the window of his Toyota Landcruiser was smashed. (AP)