Early Presidential Election, 10 January 2021
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Mission at a glance
Head of Mission: Tamas Meszerics (Hungary)
Core team of 13 experts from 12 OSCE participating States, based in Bishkek
22 long-term observers deployed throughout the country
Mission schedule
9 December: Opening of the mission
13 December: Arrival of long-term observers
14 December: Briefing of long-term observers
15 December: Deployment of long-term observers throughout the country
10 January: Election day
11 January: Press conference on preliminary findings and conclusions
17 January: Departure of long-term observers
23 January: Departure of the core team
Press conference
Following an invitation from the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of the Kyrgyz Republic to observe the early presidential election scheduled for 10 January 2021, and in accordance with its mandate, ODIHR has deployed a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) for this election.
The ODIHR LEOM and the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek operate separately under their specific mandates.
Long-term Observation
The ODIHR LEOM, headed by Tamas Meszerics, consists of 13 international experts based in Bishkek. In addition, 22 long-term observers, from 10 participating countries, will be deployed throughout the country from 15 December.
The mission will assess the election 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 election, the administration of election, 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 election. They will also assess how prior ODIHR election-related recommendations have been implemented. As part of the observation, the LEOM will conduct comprehensive monitoring of the media.
Election Day
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 election, the ODIHR LEOM, together with its parliamentary partners, 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.
Cooperation
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) is planning to deploy its observer delegation to the election.
Previous Elections
ODIHR has previously observed 12 elections and a referendum in the country, most recently the 2020 parliamentary elections.