MINSK, 29 March (BelTA) - The Central Commission for Elections and Referendums of Kyrgyzstan is interested in Belarusian experience in public education and work with youth, Tynchtyk Shainazarov, the head of the commission told the media after signing a cooperation agreement in Minsk with the Central Election Commission of Belarus, BelTA has learned.
“We want to adopt Belarus’ experience in working with youth and the public in terms of education, which is aimed at ensuring high voter turnout,” said Tynchtyk Shainazarov. He noted that turnout in Kyrgyzstan is significantly lower than that seen in the recent elections in Belarus.
“Therefore, I have already planned a set of measures aimed at meeting with young people. We will conduct informational and explanatory work with the goal of increasing youth activity in the social and political life of our country. The result, we hope, will be an increase in turnout in the next elections,” he said.
Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Belarus Igor Karpenko noted that his colleague from Kyrgyzstan was impressed by the work with the public in Belarus. Moreover, this refers not only to education in the field of electoral law. The country as a whole has established a systematic approach to working with the public, which includes various formats: handling citizens’ appeals, unified information days, various informational projects, visits by the authorities, ministries, and departments to work collectives, meetings with student groups, with schoolchildren, and so on. This indeed produces certain results.
“For them, the example of Belarus is very impressive. We carefully studied all these issues, and we also met with our future voters, with schoolchildren who are implementing a project like the Future Voters Club,” said Igor Karpenko.
He added that the agreement signed opens up new prospects for cooperation not only between the central election commissions but also between the commissions and the academic community of the two countries, for exchanging information in jurisprudence, political science, and many other issues. 
Assessing their visit to Belarus, Tynchtyk Shainazarov noted that it had been very fruitful and included a meeting with political scientists and students at the Academy of Public Administration under the aegis of the President of Belarus. “We worked in a question-and-answer format. There were many questions; the young people are active. Indeed, I could see in their eyes that the youth feel a sense of patriotism,” he said.
The delegation also visited the National Children’s Educational Center Zubrenok, where extensive work is organized to train leaders of school self-government, and where a Future Voters Club operates on an ongoing basis, a project aimed at improving the legal culture of young people in the field of electoral law.
For Belarusi, in turn, such interaction opens up the prospect of information exchange, holding consultations, cooperation within the framework of international organizations, and providing mutual solidarity support where necessary. This refers, first and foremost, to the Association of World Election Bodies, in which Belarus is an active member.
“Furthermore, we are interested in studying the innovations that exist in various electoral systems. Any system, including the electoral system, must develop and meet the demands of the present day, the needs of the state, society, and voters. By studying this experience, exchanging information, we carefully weigh all the innovations and technologies that are used in the electoral process, and we seek the rational kernel in order to use it in our professional activities,” Igor Karpenko said.
Photos by Maksim Guchek
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