Parliamentary Elections, 4 October 2020
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Mission at a glance
Head of Mission: Thomas Boserup (Denmark)
Core team of 13 experts from 11 OSCE participating States, based in Bishkek
18 long-term observers deployed throughout the country
Mission schedule
4 September: Opening of the mission
9 September: Arrival of long-term observers
10 September: Briefing of long-term observers
11 September: Deployment of long-term observers across the country
4 October: Election day
5 October: Press conference on preliminary findings and conclusions
11 October: Departure of long-term observers
15 October: Departure of the core team
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.
Previous Elections
ODIHR has previously observed 10 elections and a referendum in the country, most recently the 2017 presidential election.