Repeat elections: Bribery takes on more subtle forms

Bribery of voters in the repeat elections of deputies of City Councils in Bishkek, Osh and Tokmak takes on more subtle forms. Preliminary report of the Common Cause Public Foundation on the results of long-term observation says.

«Despite the cancellation of the last elections, the practice of using the administrative resource and bribery by individual parties, as well as attracting the heads of the house and quarter committees in order to be elected, persists. This is observed in all three cities. At the same time, investigations into violations registered at the past local elections have not been completed,» the document says.

During the observation for the repeat elections (from June 18 to July 9, 2021), the Common Cause Public Foundation revealed 83 facts of violations of electoral legislation. Including:

• 65 facts of violation of the rules of pre-election campaigning;
• 11 facts of bribery of voters;
• 5 facts of use of administrative resources, threats and pressure on voters;
• 1 fact of violation of candidate registration procedures;
• 1 fact on the formation of the composition of the PEC.

At least 52 applications were submitted to the Osh Territorial Election Commission.

Repeat elections of deputies of City Council are held today in Bishkek, Osh and Tokmak cities.