26/01/2026 Election observation | Session
Meeting in plenary, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe debated its observation of the early parliamentary elections held on 30 November 2025 in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Assembly concluded that “the elections were efficiently run but the restrictive campaign environment stifled candidate and voter engagement” and warned that “fundamental freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, while constitutionally protected, are increasingly limited in practice by new restrictive legislation and its enforcement”.
Presenting the findings of the observation mission, rapporteur Georgios Stamatís (Greece, EPP/CD) stressed that recent changes to the electoral system raise serious concerns. The Assembly noted that “the electoral fundamentally reformed legal framework, while providing a technical basis for conducting elections, falls short of a number of international standards for democratic elections”, in particular because “the short time-frame between the adoption of the amendments to the law and the early elections limited opportunities for meaningful public consultation” and undermined the stability of the electoral law.
Alongside these concerns, the Assembly acknowledged certain positive elements, including measures to enhance gender representation, the technical capacity of the election administration, efforts to increase transparency and the functioning of new voting technologies. It nevertheless underlined that “numerous allegations of vote-buying continued throughout the campaign but only nine cases were officially initiated” and that while “election day was calm, orderly, and procedures were largely followed”, “significant procedural errors and omissions during the counting and tabulation processes were observed”.
In light of its findings, the Assembly called on the authorities to address the shortcomings identified as a matter of priority. It urged them to improve the electoral legal framework in co-operation with the Venice Commission and ODIHR, to refrain from revising key electoral rules shortly before elections, to strengthen fundamental freedoms, deter vote-buying, ensure more equal campaign conditions, and restore civil society’s ability to participate freely in public life and election observation. The Assembly concluded that it stands ready to work with the authorities of Kyrgyzstan to address the issues highlighted. It called on the newly elected Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic to step up its co-operation with the Assembly and reaffirm its commitment to the aims of the partner for democracy status.