OREANDA-NEWS. December 10, 2010. A roundtable focusing on the approaches to updating the electoral system of Turkmenistan was conducted in the new building of the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda with the participation of experts of the OSCE and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), who had been invited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan to monitor the elections to velayat, etrap, town halk maslakhaty.

Participants of the meeting organized by the Central commission for Elections and Referenda represented the Mejlis, the Turkmen Institute for Democracy and Human Rights under the President of Turkmenistan and the Institute of State and Law under the President of Turkmenistan.

An overview of election law of Turkmenistan was presented to participants. It was emphasized that at present as the context for strengthening the democratic foundations of the state and society consistent efforts were taken on the initiative of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to update the regulatory framework with the electoral law as its essential component.

Electoral systems, international standards, norms and electoral practices of foreign countries and the OSCE experts’ comments on election laws and recommendations on their improvement were presented at the roundtable. It was noted by experts of this authoritative international organisation that the study of best international practice in this field would facilitate effective work of Turkmen specialists on development and adoption of the Election Code of Turkmenistan as well as further modernization of the national legislation.

It was emphasized that the presence of international observers monitoring the elections of velayat etrap, town halk maslakhaty held in Turkmenistan last Sunday was one of the bright evidence of their democratic nature. The OSCE experts noted that the electoral system designed to express a free expression of the electors’ will through voting worked in Turkmenistan and was consistent with international standards in this field.

It was noted that Turkmenistan as a full member of the international community stood steadfast to its commitments, and elections in Turkmenistan were organized and held in compliance with the provisions of relevant international documents that it had acceded to ensuring their implementation.