Kyrgyzstan’s 2021 presidential election: OSCE/ODIHR observation mission final report

The 2021 presidential election in Kyrgyzstan was well organized and fundamental freedoms were generally respected. However, the campaign was dominated by one candidate who benefited from disproportionately large financial means and misuse of administrative resources, resulting in an uneven playing field. The fact that the presidential election was linked to a simultaneous constitutional referendum weakened both the election process and public debate, particularly given the dominance of one candidate in both. An overall lack of critical media reporting limited voters’ ability to make an informed choice.

These are some of the main conclusions from the final report on Kyrgyzstan’s presidential election of 10 January 2021, published today by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The report offers 25 recommendations to bring elections in Kyrgyzstan closer in line with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections.  

Key recommendations include:

• Avoiding holding elections and referenda on the same day if the referendum concerns the institution facing election

• Ensuring that referenda are held following broad public consultation in line with international rule of law standards

• Abolishing disproportionate restrictions on the voting rights of prisoners and people with disabilities

• Ensuring full transparency of financial reports to allow meaningful oversight of campaign finance

• Providing a clear legal definition of “incitement of national, racial, religious or interregional enmity” and limiting prosecution only to cases that incite discrimination, hostility or violence, as defined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• Amending the legal definition of electoral campaigning to allow full media coverage of the campaign, and cancelling the system of accreditation for media outlets as a pre-condition for selling political advertising

• Respecting the principle of equality throughout the elections, including impartial consideration of complaints and equal treatment of candidates

• Ensuring decisions that affect the rights and duties of those involved in the election are made by the Central Election Commission in open sessions

ODIHR deployed a Limited Election Observation Mission on 9 December 2020 to observe the presidential election. All 57 participating States across the OSCE region have formally committed to following up promptly on ODIHR’s election assessments and recommendations.