BISHKEK: Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Kyrgyz Republic Nurzhan Shaildabekova and members of the OSCE/ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) election observation mission headed by Thomas Boserup held ameeting, the press service of the CEC reported on Tuesday.
The head of the OSCE/ODIHR mission expressed gratitude to the CEC of the Kyrgyz Republic for the invitation to observe the elections. He said that the OSCE/ODIHR team of 12 experts arrived in Bishkek on Sept. 2. Next week, 18 long-term observers are expected to arrive in Kyrgyzstan, who will be distributed throughout the country in their respective regions.
He also stressed that this is already the twelfth elections that they will observe.
Shaildabekova briefed about improvement of electoral system in Kyrgyzstan, the reform which began in 2013-2014. “In 2018, the National Council for Sustainable Development adopted a Strategy for Improving Electoral Legislation, which, among other things, includes measures to implement the recommendations that were given during previous election campaigns by OSCE/ODIHR international observers. Through interaction with parliament, most of these recommendations were implemented at the legislative level. Kyrgyzstan is committed to international standards and norms for democratic elections, the commitments to which have been taken by the country as a member of the OSCE,” she said.
She also noted the importance and effectiveness of the support provided by the OSCE Program Office in Bishkek and OSCE/ODIHR experts in the process of developing the Strategy for Improving Election Legislation and its implementation.
At the end of the meeting the sides agreed to hold briefings by the CEC for OSCE / ODIHR observers on various important aspects of the electoral process. On July 3, Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov signed a decreesetting out the official date of the country’s next parliamentary elections. The date has been set for October 4 this year.–Agencies
