MINSK, 26 March (BelTA) – The work being done in Belarus to engage the public, and especially young people, is commendable. Uzbekistan has something to learn from that. Chairman of the Central Commission for Elections and Referendums of Kyrgyzstan Tynchtyk Shainazarov made the statement as he visited the Center for Public Outreach and Electoral Process at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Belarus, BelTA has learned.
At the Academy of Public Administration the guest was briefed on the work of the Center for Public Outreach and Electoral Process. Apart from that, the academy hosted a roundtable discussion on the experience and development of the electoral system of Kyrgyzstan.
“The work being done in Belarus to engage the public, and especially young people, is commendable. And we have something to learn,” said Tynchtyk Shainazarov. “I have also made notes of the training sessions for election commission members. This is very useful for us. And naturally we will apply this practice in our own country.”
Tynchtyk Shainazarov noted that Kyrgyzstan is also ready to share its experience. “The most important thing is the technology used in our country. Specifically, an identification device with a printer. The device identifies voters and prints ballots,” he explained. “We used to print ballots at a printing house. Naturally, a number of them were not used and had to be destroyed. And these are strictly accountable documents. There were also complications with security: traffic police escorts, armed guards. But by introducing new technologies, we have literally eliminated these complications.”
According to Tynchtyk Shainazarov, this equipment now issues ballots to voters upon arrival and leaves no surplus documents lying around.
The guest also spoke about automatic reading devices (ARDs), which upload voter turnout data and preliminary voting results. “Last year we held elections to the parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic. The elections ended at 20:00 and preliminary results were announced at 20:01. And practice has shown that our preliminary results are always identical to the final ones.”
“We also train members of election commissions and engage with the public. But the way this is organized in Belarus is something to be envied,” said Tynchtyk Shainazarov. He emphasized that the attention paid in Belarus to educating the public – and young people in particular – about electoral processes deserves respect.
The guest also spoke about remote voting. “Regardless of their location, voters can come to any polling station on the election day and cast a ballot. Even if they are outside the country. With this option we have created maximum opportunities for our voters [to participate in elections],” he said. “Even though we have created such opportunities, voter turnout remains our biggest problem. And in this regard we also have something to learn from Belarus.”
Denis Duk, Rector of the Academy of Public Administration, noted that between election campaigns it is important not to neglect the training of specialists who will have to work in quite stressful situations in the future. “Because in any election the country needs to work effectively, in a coordinated and precise manner. And we now engage with young people. We have a very high turnout: more than 90% of young people participate in voting,” he added.
In his words, this is achieved by involving young people in the youth councils under the Central Election Commission, in organizations, and in educational institutions. “This experience is very interesting for our colleagues. We are ready to share it,” added Denis Duk.
During his visit Tynchtyk Shainazarov is expected to learn how public outreach is organized in Belarus: from educational programs for election organizers and young people to information campaigns aimed at increasing voter turnout.
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