Constitutional Referendum, 27 June 2010

Following an invitation from Kyrgyzstan's authorities, and based on the recommendation of a needs assessment mission, ODIHR deployed a referendum observation mission (ROM) for the 27 June 2010 constitutional referendum.

The ROM and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek operated independently under separate mandates.

Core team

The ROM, led by Ambassador Boris Frlec (Slovenia), comprised a 13-member international core team, based in Bishkek, with members drawn from 10 OSCE participating States. The ROM assessed the referendum process for its compliance with principles for democratic electoral processes, including commitments agreed to by all OSCE participating States, as well as with national legislation.

The observers assessed the legal framework and its implementation, the role of the media, the work of the election administration and relevant governmental bodies, and the complaints and appeals process.

As part of the observation process, the members of the ROM met with relevant governmental authorities, the election administration, political parties, the judiciary, civil society, and the media.

The ROM included a media-monitoring component to follow the coverage of the referendum by major public and private media outlets.

In addition, 13 long-term observers, seconded by OSCE participating States, were deployed across Kyrgyzstan to follow the preparations for the referendum at the regional level.

Referendum day

ODIHR requested that participating States second 300 short-term observers, who arrived shortly before referendum day, to follow referendum day proceedings.

A statement of preliminary findings and conclusions was issued on the day after the referendum. A comprehensive final report on the mission's findings was published approximately eight weeks after the completion of the process.

Previous elections

ODIHR has been observing elections in Kyrgyzstan since 2000, including parliamentary elections in 2000, 2005 and 2007 and presidential elections in 2000, 2005 and 2009.