Institute of Ombudsman recommends changes to elections law

The Institute of the Ombudsman of Kyrgyzstan has prepared a review of the election process on October 15, which recommends amending the Law On the election of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic and the deputies of the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic.

According to the document, there were facts about the use of an administrative resource. «At the same time, the competent authorities «sluggishly» bring the perpetrators to justice or at all do not report on the measures taken,» the report noted.

According to the Ombudsman’s Institute, some PEC workers do not know the basic requirements of the constitutional law On the election of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic and the deputies of the Parliament, which leads to gross violations during voting. Serious confusion was also noted in the formation of voter lists.

The Institute of the Ombudsman recommended to Parliament:

— To amend the law on elections providing for the prohibition of photo and / or video recording by voters of ballots issued during voting;

— To supplement the law on elections with the definition «administrative resource» and prescribe the cases for which criminal liability will be provided;

— To determine in the law the status of teachers, medical workers and other employees of state institutions, as well as organizations with shared state participation that do not have the status of a state employee during the electoral process.

«It is necessary to distinguish between violations of the law in the field of elections and determine the criteria according to which criminal responsibility is imposed for breaking some of them, and administrative — for the other,» the report said.

The Central Election Commission of Kyrgyzstan was recommended to improve the training of PEC members in their duties, work with voter lists and rules for organizing voting premises; set up ramps at all polling stations in the country.