27 violations of the law were recorded during the preparation for the early presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan
BISHKEK, December 30 - Long-term observers of the Common Cause public foundation from December 21 to 28 recorded 27 violations of the law in preparation for the early presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan, scheduled for January 10, 2021.
Among the revealed violations, 15 facts of the use of administrative resources, 7 facts of bribing voters and 5 cases of threats and violence had been recorded. The information on 12 out of 27 cases was sent to the Rapid Response Coordination Group (RRCG) to check these facts of possible violations.
According to the information provided by the observers, four out of six cases sent to the RRCG concerned actions in favor of presidential candidate Sadyr Zhaparov. In two cases: in the village of Dyikan Kyshtak, Karasu district, Osh region, and in Bazar-Korgon, the village of Kyzyl-Oktyabr, Jalal-Abad region, in addition to illegal campaigning, representatives of local authorities promised residents to provide a reward for voting for Japarov, in this respect citizens were asked for copies of their passports, which is a serious violation of electoral law.
One of the cases of possible bribery concerns actions in favor of one of the candidates: in Aravan district of Osh region Credit experts of a financial institution distribute information to voters that if they vote for a certain candidate, the company headed by him will repay interest on loans for them for three months.
The cases of possible use of administrative resources recorded by the observers of the Common Cause PF and submitted to the RRCG also relate to actions in favor of candidate Sadyr Zhaparov (4 out of 5), including the use of social networks: information about a meeting with candidate S. Zhaparov was published on the Facebook page of a user. Whereas the user is an employee of Kochkor District Department of the Ministry of Finance of KR. One case relates to the actions of candidate Kursan Asanov: in Aravan district, the candidate for the position of the head of the state attracted employees of internal affairs bodies as agitators.
Between December 21 and 28, five cases of threats were recorded, one of them was transferred to the RRCG, for its verification and, if confirmed, to act. In the branch of the same financial institution in Osh region, Aravan district, the branch manager may be pressuring the employees of the branch to vote for the candidate B. Tolbaev. In case of refusal, the employees are threatened with dismissal.
