Limited election observation mission

Parliamentary Elections, 4 October 2020

ODIHR press confernece: 2020 Kyrgyzstan parliamentary elections

Following an official invitation from the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of the Kyrgyz Republic, and in accordance with its mandate, ODIHR has deployed a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) to observe the parliamentary elections scheduled for 4 October 2020.

The ODIHR LEOM and the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek operate separately under their specific mandates.

Long-term Observation

The ODIHR LEOM, headed by Thomas Boserup, consists of 13 international experts based in Bishkek. In addition, 18 long-term observers will be deployed throughout the country from 11 September.

The mission will assess the elections for their compliance with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards, as well as with national legislation. Observers will, in particular, look into the legal framework for the elections, the administration of elections, candidate registration, conduct of the campaign, the resolution of election-related disputes, campaign finance rules, as well as media environment and media coverage of the elections. They will also assess how prior ODIHR election-related recommendations have been considered. As part of the observation, the ODIHR LEOM will conduct comprehensive monitoring of the media.

Election Day

While ODIHR originally requested 350 short-term observers to be deployed prior to the 4 October elections, the deployment of short-term observers was not feasible due to the extraordinary circumstances caused by the COVID19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions across the OSCE region. Therefore, ODIHR took the decision to change the format of the observation activity from an Election Observation Mission (EOM) to a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM). While the mission will visit a limited number of polling stations on election day, systematic observation of voting, counting or tabulation of results on election day is not envisaged.

The day after the elections, the ODIHR LEOM will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately two months after the end of the observation mission.