Home > 4.2 Presidential elections > KYRGYZ REPUBLIC- Joint Opinion on the Draft Electoral Law
 
 
 
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Paragraph 53
 

F. Collection of signatures for presidential candidacy


Article 76(8) states “either all or part of the submitted signatures selected randomly (through casting a lot) may be checked”. This provision is not consistent with international good practice[1] and the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR have previously recommended that the procedure for verification of signatures be revised. Extrapolation of the percentage of invalid signatures in a sample to the total number of signatures collected does not provide an accurate reconciliation of collected signatures and may result in an unjustified denial of registration.[2]


[1] Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, CDL-AD(2002)023rev, I.1.3 iv.


[2] The OSCE/ODIHR noted in its election observation mission report on the 2009 presidential elections: “Like the Oblast Election Commissions (OECs), the Central Election Commission (CEC) extrapolated the percentage of invalid signatures to the total amount. This double extrapolation is unreasonable and led directly to the denial of registration for Mr Aitikeev. Initially, the OECs found 8,435 of Mr Aitikeev’s 74,081 submitted signatures invalid (11.4 per cent). The CEC further verified 5,109 of the remaining 65,646 signatures (8 per cent) and found 1,405 (27.5 per cent) invalid; they consequently invalidated an additional 18,025 signatures. This left Mr Aitikeev with only 47,521 valid signatures, 2,479 short of the required 50,000 (figures provided by CEC)”. See OSCE/ODIHR Final Report on the Kyrgyz Republic presidential election 23 July 2009 (Warsaw, 22 October 2009).