Dutch delegation with Walburga Habsburg Douglas in Bishkek, 12 Sept. 2011. (Photo by Arjen Westerhoff, Dutch Parliament)BISHKEK, 12 September 2011 – OSCE PA Vice-President Walburga Habsburg Douglas (Sweden) and human rights committee rapporteur Coskun Coruz (The Netherlands) led discussions about election observation work Saturday during an OSCE-organized parliamentary forum on the role of parliaments in ensuring election transparency.

The event was jointly organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, the non-governmental organization Parliament of Political Parties and Kyrgyzstan’s Parliament (Jogorku Kenesh), and was attended parliamentarians and political experts, who discussed how parliamentarians can contribute to the conduct of free, fair and inclusive elections.

"Parliamentarians have a key role to play in the election process at large. They are guarantors of democracy," said Coruz, rapporteur of the OSCE PA committee on democracy, human rights and humanitarian questions.

"The relationship between the executive and legislature is critical to ensuring transparency in government," said Vice-President Habsburg Douglas, who will lead the short-term OSCE observation mission to Kyrgyzstan’s presidential election next month. "I look forward to the election observation mission with hope that it will build on progress already made in Kyrgyzstan in line with OSCE commitments.”

Andrew Tesoriere, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, said: “It is in the nature of the OSCE that each and all of the 56 participating States, including Kyrgyzstan, rely on each other's support and share their experience, as equals within a consensus-based organization. Interaction between Parliamentarians is an essential part of the process, especially ahead of such an important event as a presidential election.”

Asylbek Jeenbekov, the Deputy Speaker of the Kyrgyzstan’s Parliament said: “The upcoming presidential election is an important milestone in the democratic development of our country. People are waiting for this historic moment, as the transitional period is about to be over. It is important for us to strengthen people’s trust, and this forum will help us define the role of parliament in ensuring the holding of transparent elections.”