The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Kyrgyzstan has arrived in the State capital to learn from the May16 Assembly elections in Kerala.
The five-member team led by CEC member Bekbasarov Rashid has arrived at the invitation of the Election Commission of India. “Ours is a young democracy and we are yet to decide on which route to take. We are here to understand the conduct of elections, the preparedness, and the involvement of the various agencies,” Mr. Rashid said on Saturday. “We have heard that elections are held in a free and fair manner here and we want to see the process,” said Mr. Rashid who is visiting India for the first time.
The CEC has signed a MoU with the Election Commission of India on cooperation in the field of elections and that paved for the visit.
Mr. Rashid interacted with District Collector Biju Prabhakar and had a look at the Electronic Voting Machine with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) on Saturday. The team will visit polling stations and distribution and counting centres.
Located in Central Asia on the historical Silk Road, Kyrgyzstan gained independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Kyrgyzstan is the first parliamentary republic in Central Asia.
The parties needed to poll nationally above 7 per cent, as well receive at least 0.7 per cent of the votes in each of Kyrgyzstan’s seven regions, plus its two largest cities – Bishkek and Osh. The last election to the Parliament was held in 2015, he said.
The CEC in Kyrgyzstan has 12 members, with four nominated by the President and four by the Opposition. Election to Parliament is held every five years and the President has a six-year team. Mr. Rashid will call on the Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi in Delhi on May 17.
(With inputs from
Miriam Stewart)
