MINSK, 19 August (BelTA) - The Commonwealth of Independent States is drawing up a statement on the protection of citizens' electoral rights and guarantees of the electoral sovereignty of states. The document was discussed at a meeting of experts in an online format on 19 August, BelTA learned from the press service of the CIS Executive Committee.
The meeting was attended by representatives of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the CIS Executive Committee.
The experts finalized the text of the statement. The document will be recommended for adoption by the CIS Heads of State Council.
The press service noted that the document has been sponsored by Russia. The statement calls to strengthen the public confidence in elections and referendums by increasing the openness and transparency of electoral procedures, to develop a constructive, equal and respectful dialogue on fundamental electoral matters that shape the standards of modern democratic elections, to exchange the best practices and to promote interaction of the CIS Executive Committee and the CIS IPA with other monitoring missions.
The document also calls to facilitate the cooperation between the central electoral bodies of the CIS states, and development of institutions of public and international observation.
