OSCE Centre hosts donor co-ordination meeting on assistance to Kyrgyzstan ahead of elections
On 7 October 2011 the OSCE Centre in Bishkek hosted a meeting on co-ordinating donor electoral assistance ahead of Kyrgyzstan's presidential election scheduled for 30 October.
Monthly co-ordination meetings are a collaborative effort of the OSCE Centre, UNDP and the EU. They provide a platform to exchange information and discuss electoral assistance between donor organizations and the country’s authorities represented by the Central Election Commission (CEC), the President’s Apparatus and the Parliament.
“The forthcoming Presidential election represents a watershed in the peaceful transfer of presidential authority and thus is crucial for Kyrgyzstan’s longer-term stabilization and democratic development,” said Ambassador Andrew Tesoriere, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. “Our joint work on electoral assistance testifies to the importance that the international community attaches to ensuring the conduct of these elections in line with international standards and the OSCE commitments. With the election day only three weeks ahead of us, today’s meeting offers us an opportunity to help the authorities iron out any possible wrinkles in the preparations for the election”.
The meeting participants discussed electoral assistance the OSCE Centre provides to Kyrgyzstan in close co-ordination with the country’s authorities and international partners such as the EU, UNDP, USAID, as well as a number of bilateral embassies. The assistance includes building the capacity of election administration bodies, supporting independent domestic observation, promoting public awareness and voter education on suffrage rights, assisting door-to-door checking of voters’ data on the voter lists, and training prosecutors on election-related matters.
This support is provided in the framework of larger OSCE assistance to Kyrgyzstan in promoting electoral reform and holding elections in accordance with relevant OSCE commitments and international standards in the field.