III. DISCUSSION OF THE DRAFT NATIONAL ELECTIONS LAW AND THE DRAFT ELECTION COMMISSIONS LAW

S. Voting procedures

Article 30 of the draft national elections law regulates the text of the ballot paper. Article 30 requires that the ballot be printed in the state and official languages. The OSCE/ODIHR noted in its election observation mission report for the 2010 parliamentary elections that 30 per cent of the ballots were printed in Russian.[1] The OSCE/ODIHR also noted that Uzbeks constitute nearly 15 per cent of the population.[2] In order to achieve a more inclusive environment for national minorities during the election,the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR recommend that consideration be given to amending Article 30 to provide that ballots are also printed in the Uzbek language in areas where this is relevant. This would facilitate the participation of this significant national minority in the elections.[3]

[1] OSCE/ODIHR Final Report on the Kyrgyz Republic Parliamentary Elections 10 October 2010 (Warsaw, 20 December 2010), page 18.

[2] Id., at page 17.

[3] General Comment No 25 of the UN Human Rights Committee recommends that “information and materials about voting should be available in minority languages”.