BISHKEK – Kyrgyzstan has created the conditions for a peaceful and largely transparent constitutional referendum but improvements are needed before parliamentary elections, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) election monitoring arm said yesterday.
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said a high voter turnout on Sunday showed the resilience of Kyrgyz citizens and their desire to shape the future after ethnic violence this month cost hundreds of lives. “The citizens of Kyrgyzstan turned out in large numbers to vote for a new, democratic and peaceful future for their country,” said Boris Frlec, head of the observation mission.
“It is now up to all political forces to work together to improve the electoral framework ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections and build a democratic society based on respect for human rights and the rule of law.”
Kyrgyzstan voted to create the first parliamentary democracy in Central Asia, a region otherwise ruled by authoritarian presidents. About 90 per cent supported constitutional change, the Central Election Commission has said.
The 56-country OSCE did not send observers to Osh and Jalalabad, the southern cities worst-affected by the violence, because of security concerns. It had observers in other parts of the country.
The ODIHR said the Kyrgyz authorities succeeded in staffing all polling stations in troubled southern regions and efforts were made to allow internally displaced voters, often with no papers, cast ballots. Election officials delivered ballot boxes to residents of ethnic Uzbek neighbourhoods in Osh, many of whom were afraid to leave their burned-out homes.
The ODIHR identified some flaws, such as failure to check voters’ thumbs had been stamped with indelible ink – an important safeguard against multiple voting.
Kyrgyzstan plans to hold parliamentary elections every five years, with the first in October.