30th Anniversary of Institute of International Election Observation within the CIS celebrated at Tavricheskiy Palace

On 21 November, the Tavricheskiy Palace hosted the international scientific and practical conference “30 Years of International Election Observation in the CIS: Experience and Practical Outcomes” organized by the IPA CIS.

The participants of the conference were senators, deputies, and representatives of the parliaments of the IPA CIS Member Nations, representatives of international organizations, government authorities, election administration, leaders and representatives of public organizations, academics and experts, as well as students and postgraduate students from universities - partners of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat.

Welcoming addresses to the conference participants were sent by Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev, and Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus, Chair of the Consultative Council of Heads of Electoral Bodies of the CIS Member States Igor Karpenko.

The conference was opened by Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the IPA CIS Council – Director of the International Institute for Monitoring the Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD) Ivan Mushket.

Conference participants agreed that the standards for democratic elections, outlined in the 2002 Convention on Standards for Democratic Elections, Electoral Rights, and Freedoms in the CIS Member States, remain relevant today. These standards continue to be implemented into the national legislation of our countries. Based on the provisions of the Convention, the Consultative Council of Heads of Electoral Bodies of the CIS Member States was established in 2023, and Recommendations for international observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States on election and referendum observation are being improved.

Two panel discussions were held during the conference. The first panel discussion focused on the topic “International Election and Referendum Observation and the Protection of Citizens."Electoral Rights and Freedoms."The second panel discussion was dedicated to the topic "International and Public Election and Referendum Observation."

After the main part of the conference, its participants approved the draft Resolution of the International Scientific and Practical Conference "30 Years of International Election Observation in the CIS: Experience and Practical Outcomes”