A strecher with the body of murdered Kyrgyz parliamentary deputy Sandjarbek Kadyraliyev is put into an ambulance in the capital city, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Tuesday, April 14 AP BISHKEK (Reuters) - Kyrgyzstan's opposition backed a single candidate on Monday to run in this year's presidential election, a rare show of unity from a long-fragmented movement.

The impoverished former Soviet republic has seen growing tensions between President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and the opposition over past weeks in the run-up to a July vote.

Although weak and marginalised, the opposition has accused Bakiyev of clamping down on critics ahead of the election -- a charge which Bakiyev, who plans to run, has strongly denied.

On Monday, the opposition agreed to join forces behind a Almazbek Atambayev, a 52-year-old former prime minister.

"It's a major responsibility and a great risk. We will not lose," Atambayev, who has agreed to run but has yet to register with the central election commission, told reporters. "People understand that this government will lead us nowhere."

Bakiyev came to power shortly after a disputed parliamentary election in 2005 which triggered violent protests that forced long-serving Kyrgyz leader Askar Akayev to flee the country.

Atambayev was one of Bakiyev's staunch supporters at the time but later switched sides, accusing Bakiyev of corruption and running Kyrgyzstan like a personal fiefdom. Atambayev had previously run in the 2000 and 2005 presidential elections.

Russia and the West are watching Kyrgyzstan for any signs of unrest ahead of this year's election. The geographically strategic nation hosts a U.S. air base as well as a Russian one.

Economic decline and falling remittances from migrant labourers have further reinforced concerns about the possibility of social unrest in the mountainous country of five million.

The country has been even more closely observed from outside since February when Bakiyev ordered the United States to close its air base used as a transport hub for operations Afghanistan.

Bakiyev made that announcement in Moscow after securing more than $2 billion in Russian credit and aid, prompting analysts to suggest that Russia, which sees Central Asia as part of its sphere of interest, had played a role in the process.