Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 8 / Trend E.Ostapenko /
The political parties participating in the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan mostly do not use the formal complaints procedure through the Central Election Commission (CEC). However, verbal complaints will also be checked and, if confirmed, will be included in the report of the ODIHR observation mission, said Jens Eschenbaecher, ODIHR spokesperson.
"We are closely following the process: meet with political parties, media, NGOs and civil society representatives," Eschenbaecher told Trend over the phone from Bishkek. "We take into account all complaints and if they are confirmed in practice, we will include it in our final report."
The main concerns are about a possible buying of votes on the Election Day, he said.
Mission of OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights will observe the elections in Kyrgyzstan scheduled for Sunday. These elections will be another step in legitimizing the government institution, emerging after the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in April. In addition to the ODIHR, the elections will be monitored by the SCO, CSTO and CIS.
The mission of the OSCE / ODIHR will include about 300 people, including both short- and long-term observers. The short-term mission consisting of 250 people arrived in the country on Tuesday and will be deployed in all districts of the country, Eschenbaecher said. The40-member long-term mission has been in the country for over a month and will stay for two weeks after the Election Day to oversee the complaints and appeals process.
Dutch MP Corien Jonker will lead the mission. Jonker heads the ODIHR mission for the first time, but she has a great experience in the observation mission delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Kyrgyzstan will hold the parliamentary elections on the party system. 29 parties have passed the registration at the CEC. Under the new Constitution, after forming Jogorku Kenesh (one-chamber Parliament), Kyrgyzstan will become a parliamentary republic. The country's President will have only representational functions. Actual authority over the republic will be transferred to the Prime Minister, who will be appointed by the parliamentary majority.
The country registered about 2.86 million voters. The Kyrgyz legislation does not contain a threshold to voter turnout.
The ODIHR Missin hopes that they will be able to monitor the elections throughout the country, while during the June referendum the organization had to be confined to a small group of observers for security reasons due to the unrests in the country.
Based on the preliminary estimation of candidates' equal presentation in the press, Eschenbaecher said, the political parties take full advantage of the opportunity to present themselves to public through paid advertising on public and other television channels.
The organization's recent interim report on the preparations for elections in Kyrgyzstan says election campaign is held in the form of an active and equal competition.
Parties have the opportunity to campaign freely and openly, they are equally provided with airtime and print space. Party lists meet the gender requirements and minorities were represented in the relevant way, the report said.
The CEC's activities are characterized as open and transparent, which in most cases are carried out in accordance with schedule. The main problem is lack of staff, which affects the quality and speed of individual conditions for arranging and holding elections.
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