font-family:"Lucida Bright"">The elections to the posts of Head of
Village and to town administrations were held in Kyrgyzstan on December 16 and
23. International observers from OSCE, and the American, Russian, Ukrainian,
Belarus and Kazakh embassies as well as a number of international
organizations took an active part in monitoring the elections. yes">  

font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Local elections were first proposed by
President Askar Akayev in an address to the public on December 12, 2000. Local
experts claim that there are several reasons for this initiative. First, by
holding local elections, the Kyrgyz government has tried to involve the public
in the ‘democratic process’, as the public was disappointed with the last
presidential elections.  Secondly,
it is a good chance for Kyrgyzstan to restore its image as an ‘island of
democracy’ in Central Asia.  Thirdly,
the government tries to improve its relationship with the international
community and international organizations, which have heavily criticized
Kyrgyzstan for holding unfair and undemocratic parliamentary and presidential
elections.  Judging by the initial
reaction of the international community, the strategy seems to be working. On
December 14, the Secretary General of the OSCE Jan Kubis approved of
Kyrgyzstan’s initiative of holding local elections. 
The Secretary General said that it was a good sign that the
international community’s criticism brought positive results.

font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Since the last presidential elections the
Kyrgyz government has been promising the OSCE and a number of other
international organizations to promote democracy in the country. The president
has asserted that the democratization of local self-governance is going to
become a complex process which will mark the beginning of an administrative
reform and will affect the general system of governance. The president hopes
that as a result of the local elections, reform in the rural areas will speed
up and the country will step to a new stage of struggle against corruption and
organized crime.

font-family:"Lucida Bright"">The elections were held in two rounds.
According to the Central Election Committee, 1,1 million people or 60,7% of
electors voted in the first round. In total, 1,873 candidates ran for the 460
posts. 

font-family:"Lucida Bright"">Although the Central Election Committee
claims that the local elections were held in a free, fair and transparent
atmosphere, the elections have been highly criticized by the ‘Coalition for
Democracy and Civil Society’.  The
Coalition criticized the elections saying that they were held under strict
government control. According to the Coalition, Kyrgyzstan did not meet its
commitments before international organizations on holding free and fair
elections. The Coalition criticized the election campaign as well. yes">  At a news conference held in Bishkek on December 14 on
preparations to the local elections, the President of the Coalition Tolekan
Ismailova said that the election campaign was held under full control of the
government authorities and that candidates supported by the government were
given advantages over independent candidates. Ismailova added that the Central
Election Committee failed to act as an independent body. 
The Coalition claims that 514 independent observers who monitored the
elections in 252 constituencies, as well as 4599 electors, can confirm that
infringements took place in some polling stations.

font-family:"Lucida Bright"">According to the Regional Election
Committee in the Jalal-Abad region, 65,5% of electors voted. yes">  However, 55 coalition observers, who monitored the elections
in Jalal-Abad, say that this figure is unreliable as, for example, in some
constituencies of Suzak, Bazar-Korgon districts only ca. 35% of electors
voted.  They also claim that
serious violations took place in some constituencies of the region. In Bagysh
village, the electors were offered vodka, food, or money in exchange for their
votes. One electoral vote was reported to cost 50 Soms (ca. $1).However, the
Central Election Committee refutes the Coalition’s criticism, saying that
its reports do not correspond to reality. In an interview with RFE/RL, Central
Election Committee official Tynybek Momunov said that the elections were
competitive and people took an active part. However, Momunov also stressed the
low level of citizens’ and candidates’ knowledge of law. 
The official stressed the importance of raising this knowledge. 
It is indeed important to raise it as it will not only increase
certainty, transparency and reliability of the elections, but it will also
facilitate the elimination of violations during elections.

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