ODIHR offers assistance and expertise at Dushanbe event on electoral law, including voter lists

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights provided support and expertise to a roundtable in Dushanbe on 14 March on measures to develop effective links between population and voter registration in Tajikistan, as well as on reforms to the country’s legal electoral framework.

The roundtable, organized by the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of Tajikistan, in co-operation with the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and ODIHR, brought together representatives from the government, political parties and NGOs to explore the possibilities and challenges associated with creating a centralized voter register in Tajikistan based on information from the country’s existing public registers.

Participants also discussed the possibility of implementing reforms to the country’s electoral law, based on recommendations made in the final report by the ODIHR election observation mission to Tajikistan’s parliamentary elections in 2010.

“There is still time before next year's presidential election to consider reforms, and this requires an inclusive process that involves official bodies, as well as political parties and civil society,” said Ambassador Ivar Vikki, the Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan. “Today’s roundtable provided a platform for this kind of discussion.”

The roundtable was part of ODIHR’s ongoing activities to assist participating States, on their request, in following up on recommendations made in final reports by the Office’s election observation missions.

“There are a number of ways ODIHR is ready and able to assist in the implementation of reforms, including the provision of expert advice to working groups and performing legal reviews of draft and existing laws,” ODIHR Election Adviser Richard Lappin said at the roundtable.