Presence of international observers shows full legitimacy and openness of upcoming elections - Russian expert

Bishkek, Jan. 4, 2021 / Kabar /. The Central Election Commission of Kyrgyzstan at a meeting on December 26, 2020 decided to accredit 78 representatives of various missions as international observers in the early presidential elections in the Kyrgyz Republic: 1. Mission of the CIS - 44; 2. Embassy of Kazakhstan in the Kyrgyz Republic - 1; 3. US Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic - 6; 4. Embassy of France in the Kyrgyz Republic - 2; 5. Embassy of Hungary in the Kyrgyz Republic - 1; 6. Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Kyrgyz Republic - 2; 7. Embassy of Finland in the Kyrgyz Republic - 1; 8. Embassy of Turkmenistan in the Kyrgyz Republic - 1; 9. British Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic - 7; 10. EU Delegation to the Kyrgyz Republic - 6; 11. Representation of NDI - 2; 12. OSCE / ODIHR - 5. “The referendum and the presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan is a milestone in the development of the country. I would like to emphasize that this political event is in the context of the evolutionary development of the state. The fact is that Kyrgyzstan is going through a period of so-called "trial and error". The history of Kyrgyzstan has already gone through a lot, has shown a lot, taught a lot. The new government of Kyrgyzstan, which came after Oct. 4, showed a fundamentally modern approach to political views and decisions. It is important to make it clear, probably, first of all, to ourselves, the politicians that the time is coming when the previous format of work should remain in the past. Then the election process itself and the atmosphere before and after will accompany the development of the country in political terms,” said expert and political scientist Pavel Dementyev. The world community will follow the upcoming elections and referendum with special attention, which is also evidenced by the solid composition of observers. “As for holding elections that would meet all international standards and principles, I do not see any deviations or difficulties here. The CEC of Kyrgyzstan has long been showing its high professionalism. The organization of the elections must be at the highest level. The presence of international observers shows the full legitimacy and openness of the upcoming elections. Epidemiological safety should be an important point. The coronavirus infection pandemic is still not stopped, and there are still quite a lot of daily new COVID-19 cases throughout the post-Soviet territory. Therefore, first of all, the organizers of the elections should hold them at the level of full compliance with sanitary and epidemiological standards,” the expert summed up.