OSCE Centre in Bishkek supports study visit to Mongolia on population registration

ULAANBAATAR, 27 June 2014 – The OSCE Centre in Bishkek funded a study visit to the Mongolian capital on 24 to 27 June 2014 of fifteen representatives from Kyrgyzstan’s Parliament, the Central Election Commission, the State Registration Service, the President’s Office, the Foreign Ministry and other key state agencies to familiarize participants with the population registration system and use of biometric data in Mongolia.

The visit aimed to support the exchange of information on a number of issues relevant to ongoing reforms that Kyrgyzstan is undertaking ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections in 2015 and 2017, respectively.

Participants of the study visit held meetings with the General Authority for State Registration and the State Election Committee to learn about their experiences in reforming and computerizing civil and residency registration, including administrative and practical arrangements for civil registration and the establishment of a unified state register. They also learnt about the collection and updating of biometric data in the registration process and how the information from the unified register is used to extract accurate voter lists.

“Mongolia has a number of historic, cultural ties and similarities with the Kyrgyz Republic and we share their pride for having delivered effective reforms in the area of population registration,” said member of the Kyrgyz parliament Kurmanbek Dykanbaev. “The visit will help Kyrgyzstan in identifying ideas and best practices to reform the legal framework in this important area while taking into account security and human rights concerns.”

Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, said: “My Office stands ready to support Kyrgyzstan in delivering effective and sustainable reforms in a number of key areas. We hope activities like this study visit will increase the potential of the State Registration Service and the Central Election Commission for improving the accuracy of voter lists in line with recommendations from election observation reports by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).”

In April 2014 the National Council for Sustainable Development chaired by President Almazbek Atambayev identified the accuracy of voters’ lists, the introduction of biometric data in travel documents and the establishment of a unified population register as the key ingredients to achieving free, fair and transparent elections in 2015 and beyond.

The study visit was organized as part of the Centre’s activities in supporting electoral reform in Kyrgyzstan. A representative from ODIHR also took part in the visit.