Center for Civic Education and Electoral Technologies opened at the Central Election Commission

November 11, 2021

The initiative to improve the legal culture of Kyrgyzstanis and the development of civic education based on the Center was supported by the CEC's permanent partners - the UNDP KR Election Support Program and the OSCE Program Office in Bishkek.

As the Head of the CEC Nurzhan Shildabekova noted, the Center for Civic Education has already begun its work within the framework of the parliamentary elections. “I hope that the systematization of civic education with institutionalization in the form of the Center for Civic Education and Electoral Technologies of the Central Election Commission for Elections and Referendums of the Kyrgyz Republic will allow integrating issues of upbringing, education with legal aspects,” she said.

The main tasks of the Center are to help strengthen the democratic foundations, increase the legal and political culture of elections, trust in the institutions of governance and activate citizens and civil society to participate in the life and development of the country. At the same time, the activities of the Center will be focused on all social strata and age groups of the population of the Kyrgyz Republic. At the same time, the new Center is open for interaction with civil society organizations, educational institutions, the expert community, and international partners.

State Secretary of the Kyrgyz Republic S. Kasmambetov, Chairperson of the CEC N. Shaldabekova, Head of the OSCE Program Office in Bishkek A. Rogov, UNDP Resident Representative in the Kyrgyz Republic Louise Chamberlain, Swiss Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic Olivier Bangerter, Renata Levovski, Director of the Representative Office of the International Foundation for Election Systems in the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as representatives of the media, representatives of universities and government agencies of the Kyrgyz Republic.

“We are confident that the Civic Education Center will play a catalytic role in improving citizens' understanding of the country's political and electoral system. Political equality and political knowledge are two important qualities of civic understanding that will be tested in elections. But citizen participation does not start or end with elections alone. It is vital that citizens are included and actively participate in all processes of democratic governance, including discussion of government decisions, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of government policies and their results”, said Louise Chamberlain, UNDP Resident Representative in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The plans of the Center for Civic Education under the CEC for 2022 include the development of a draft Strategy for the Development of Civic Education of Voters for the next five years, the implementation of the project "Libraries - Centers for Legal Education of Voters", the development of effective mechanisms for including PWDs in the electoral process, information and educational events for youth, women, PWDs, migrants and more.

Since 2019, the UNDP Election Support Program in the Kyrgyz Republic has been supporting the CEC in carrying out several civic education activities, as well as supporting the Central Election Commission in technical equipment, conducting trainings and information campaigns on the electoral process with the support of the Governments of Japan, Germany, and Switzerland.

Photo: vb.kg

Photo: vb.kg

Photo: vb.kg

Photo: vb.kg

Photo: vb.kg

Photo: vb.kg