Each electoral process is unique and differs from the previous one. The life does not stand still, the circumstances change and the election process itself changes. At the very beginning it is important to answer the question: why do we hold elections? And though there is a variety of answers to this question, one of the most important is the need to ensure the right and the opportunity to exercise his or her right to vote. In the electoral law, this is called inclusiveness of the electoral process which is a basic principle. Indeed, it is true that elections are an opportunity to choose their representatives to govern the state. And all citizens of the country should have an equal right and a real opportunity to participate in the electoral process as candidates and voters.

Unfortunately, as in life in general, not all people enjoy the same opportunities. And the duty of the state is to provide conditions for participation in the electoral process of all voters, including vulnerable categories - women, migrants, persons with disabilities, youth, representatives of ethnic minorities.

On July 2, 2020, the President of Kyrgyzstan announced the appointment of elections to the Parliament - Jogorku Kenesh, which will be held on October 4, 2020. Shortly after, the electoral process began with one of its most important stages - correction of the voter lists. One has only to think about if a citizen who meets the criteria defined by national legislation is not included in the voter list, then for her or him electoral process, unfortunately, may end at this stage and she or he will not be able to choose her or his future.

That is why the Central Election Commission of the Kyrgyz Republic launched an active campaign to mobilize voters to check the voter list, correct errors, if any, and register voters who, for one reason or another, are not included in the voter lists.

Starting from July 16, all citizens of Kyrgyzstan, either inside the country or staying abroad, have the opportunity to check whether they are included in the voter lists on the State Portal for Voters www.tizme.gov.kg, and from July 26 they can do the same at their polling stations, where preliminary voter lists were displayed. One can also do the check by calling the toll-free number - 1255 or 119 or by sending an identification number by SMS to 119.

Information about the possibility of checking the voter list is distributed via various channels – through public service announcements in the Russian and Kyrgyz languages, which are broadcast by TV channels and on the social media, billboards, which are placed in each locality of Kyrgyzstan (besides the procedure of checking the voter list they also remind that one should not sell one’s vote), through posters about the procedures of verification of the voter lists which are displayed at each polling station. These opportunities are provided by the Central Electoral Commission with the support of the United Nations Development Program Electoral Assistance Program in the Kyrgyz Republic, which is funded by the Governments of Germany, Japan and Switzerland.

In addition, with the support of the same Program, the Central Election Commission launched a call center, which will help to sort out questions if necessary. The call center’s activities are primarily aimed at providing assistance to voters and candidates from among women and migrants. By the way, calls to the center are free of charge for the migrants living in the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan. Citizens of Kyrgyzstan living in the Russian Federation can call 8 800 3018 318 and those living in Kazakhstan can call 8 10 800 0000 5727.

It is especially important that the operators of the call-center are the representatives of the Public Foundation “Egl”, among them there are people with disabilities, pensioners, the representatives of youth and various ethnic groups. This initiative opened an opportunity for the representatives of these groups to actively participate in the organization of the electoral process, helping their country in strengthening the democratic institutions.

The call center operators underwent special training from the experts of the Central Electoral Commission, on correction of voter lists, participation of migrants from the Kyrgyz Republic, the voting procedures and electoral disputes. The participants in the training were provided information on formation and spending of campaign funds of the political parties that nominate the candidates to the position of the deputies of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic. In addition, Ms. Tatyana Bibik, the UNDP International Gender Expert, conducted for them a special training on “Gender and elections”.

Welcoming the call center operators, CEC Chairperson Nurzhan Shaildobekova expressed her sincere gratitude for agreeing to take on a difficult burden, since the operators will be the first persons who will have to answer a variety of questions from voters and other subjects of the electoral process, and promised that the CEC staff will provide all kinds of support to the operators in their work.

The electoral process started with the correction of the voters’ lists and the nomination of candidates to the Jogorku Kenesh. Until August 20, political parties have the opportunity to nominate candidates and by September 4 we will know which candidate lists from which political parties will run for the forthcoming elections. While political parties are deciding on the lists of candidates, until September 19 inclusive, voters can check themselves in the voter list and request changes if necessary in order to be able to choose the future of their country.