DUSHANBE, February 25, 2010, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan’s Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) does not agree with the findings of interim report No2 released by the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission (EOM) on February 22 and named them “baseless.”
A statement by CCER says that the EOM members always attend consideration of complaints and proposals submitted to the CCER and courts, express their opinions that are always taken into account.
The CCER expressed regret that “unchecked information and facts are given in the report that misleads not only Tajik voters but also international community.”
On the concerns about the transparency of the CCER activities, the CCER says that it held its last sessions on February 11 and 16 respectively. The sessions considered complaints and proposals submitted to the commission and made appropriate decisions on them, the CCER said. In all, CCER has reportedly held six sessions to this day.
We will recall that the OSCE/ODIHR EOM interim report No 2 notes that CCER has held no sessions since January 19, raising concerns about the transparency and accountability of its work.
The election law requires the CCER to make official decisions on complaints, voted on by members in open session. However, until now, the CCER has not decided on complaints in a collegial and transparent manner. Complaints are dealt with using ad hoc procedures whereby the Head of the CCER Complaints Working Group apparently reviews the complaint, determines an appropriate response, and depending on his assessment of its “difficulty” or “seriousness”, may consult with other commission members or administrative staff. Formal complaints have so far been responded to by a letter, signed by the CCER Chairperson, rather than by a formal decision. This manner of dealing with complaints effectively undermines the collegial status and inclusive composition of the election commission, as well as the principle of transparency. Furthermore, the lack of official CCER decisions on complaints may undermine the right of complainants to further appeal to court.
According to the report, the OSCE/ODIHR EOM has observed that senior officials from regional and local government are members of election commissions, especially in the district election commissions (DECs). While not contravening the election law, the presence of senior local officials as DEC members in combination with the prevalence of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDPT) as DEC members raises concerns regarding the independence of the election administration.
The OSCE/ODIHR EOM notes that it was informed by several political parties about alleged obstruction of their campaigning by the authorities, including allegations of police interference and use of state resources by the ruling party for campaign purposes.
Some opposition parties express to the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission that they lack trust in election commissions and courts to impartially and effectively consider election-related complaints.
The report says several self-nominated candidates complained to the CCER that a regional governor instructed subordinates to ensure the election of a PDPT-nominated candidate.
