DUSHANBE, March 15, 2012, Asia-Plus — On Wednesday March 14, Tajikistan’s Central Commission for Elections and Referenda (CCER) in cooperation with the OSCE Office in Tajikistan and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) organized a roundtable on developing effective links between population and voter registration and reforming the legal electoral framework in Tajikistan.
A source at the CCER says the event brought together representatives from the government, political parties and NGOs as well as diplomatic missions and international organizations active in Tajikistan 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.
Speaking at the meeting, the CCER head Shermuhammad Shohiyon pointed to the necessity of creating the centralized register of voters in the country, the source said. According to him, Shohiyon also declared for regular holding of such events for the purpose of raising legal and political awareness of the population.
Meanwhile, press release issued by the OSCE Office in Tajikistan reports that ODIHR provided support and expertise to the roundtable in Dushanbe.
“There is still time before next years 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 reportedly 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.
