The OSCE observer mission told about the negative aspects of the recent snap presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan.
«Yesterday we saw, for the most part, well-organized process. But if Kyrgyzstan is going to live up to the aspirations of its people for the development of democracy, absolutely fair competition on an equal footing is critical. It was not the case here,» Peter Juel-Jensen said.
At the same time, the observers say that secrecy of the voting was not always respected on the election day. There have been cases when security measures have been ignored in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, efforts to prevent bribery of voters by prohibiting voters from temporarily changing their voting address created obstacles to participation of some 300,000 citizens in the elections.
«The legal framework has been amended several times since the last presidential elections taking into account some of the previous ODIHR recommendations. However, the laws on elections and referendum revealed gaps and ambiguities that require regulation,» the mission said in a statement.
The OSCE also believes that there was little political debate during the presidential campaign, and mostly the personalities of the candidates were discussed.
«The political environment has changed rapidly recently, but it was clear from the very beginning that this election was dominated by Sadyr Japarov, whose fame and funding overshadowed all others. While Kyrgyzstan was previously distinguished in the region by the level of political debate, these discussions were more focused on individuals than on programs, which may explain the relatively low turnout that we have observed,» the head of the delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Reinhold Lopatka believes.
