Kyrgyz law on elections needs to be finalized

VENICE, June 19 (Itar-Tass) - Experts of the Venetian Commission of
the Council of Europe believe that Kyrgyzstan's law on elections approved
by the country's parliament needs to be finalized.
"In its present form the bill imposes excessive restrictions on the
population's voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly," the Venetian
Commission noted in a resolution adopted at its plenary meeting on
Saturday.
The commission's members said those restrictions contradict the
existing European standards. Besides, they believe that a seven-percent
threshold for getting into parliament should also be removed.
The Kyrgyz parliament passed a new law on elections in May this year.
It changed, among other things, the principle of forming electoral
commissions and voters' lists. Kyrgyzstan's interim President Roza
Otunbayeva has vetoed the bill this week.
At present, the country's election legislation hasn't been brought in
line with the new Constitution. Observers believe that this factor may
become a serious obstacle to holding presidential elections late this year.

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