OSCE in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan

Rome/Vienna [ENA] The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 7th september opened a limited election observation mission (LEOM) for the 7th convocation of the Parliament which will be elected by citizens on October 4, 2020 in Kyrgyzstan, following an invitation from the national authorities. After two revolutions that ousted authoritarian presidents in 2005 and 2010, Kyrgyzstan adopted a parliamentary

form of government. Governing coalitions have proven unstable, however, and corruption remains pervasive. The unicameral parliament consists of 120 deputies elected by party list in a single national constituency to serve five-year terms. No single party is entitled to hold more than 65 seats. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) observers found that the 2015 parliamentary elections were competitive and that the 14 registered parties offered voters a wide range of options. However, the monitoring group noted significant procedural problems, errors in the rollout of a new biometric registration system, inadequate media coverage, and widespread allegations of vote buying.

The mission is led by Thomas Boserup and consists of a core team of 12 experts based in Bishkek and 18 long-term observers, who will be deployed throughout the country from 11 September. The mission will assess whether the elections are held in line with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will closely monitor fundamental aspects of the elections such as voter registration, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, and the resolution of election-related disputes.

As part of the observation, the mission will also monitor media coverage of the campaign. Meetings with numerous representatives of state authorities, political parties, civil society, the media and the international community form an integral part of the observation. Due to the health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the related travel restrictions, ODIHR is not able to deploy short-term observers ahead of the 4 October elections as originally planned. The format of the observation activity has therefore been adjusted to a LEOM, which will include long-term observers based around the country. While mission members will visit a limited number of polling stations on election day, there will not be any systematic observation

of voting, counting or tabulation of results. An interim report will be published to update the public and media during the course of the observation. The day after the elections, ODIHR’s preliminary findings and conclusions will be presented at a press conference. A final report summing up the observation and making recommendations for improvements will be published approximately two months after the end of the election process. The ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission and the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek operate separately and independently under their own mandates.