Plenary Session of Conference Dedicated to 20th Anniversary of CIS Convention on Standards of Democratic Elections Took Place in Tavricheskiy Palace

On 7 October 2022, the Ceremonial Plenary Session of International Research and Practice Conference “CIS Convention on the Standards of Democratic Elections: Open Space for International Cooperation” took place in Tavricheskiy Palace (St. Petersburg). MPs, representatives of international interparliamentary delegations, election administration bodies, experts and academia presented their views on the role of the Convention in the development of democracy, as well as outlined the prospects for international cooperation in the electoral sphere.

Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy opened the event. He noted that more than 200 people took part in the Conference and stressed that the day of the plenary session was not chosen by chance – on that particular day the CIS Convention on Standards of Democratic Elections was signed 20 years ago.

Greetings to the meeting participants were sent by Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko and delivered by member of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Oleg Tsepkin. Valentina Matvienko noted that the Convention laid a solid foundation for democratic development in the CIS. The Speaker expressed confidence that the Conference would make an important contribution to strengthening the democratic foundations in the Commonwealth countries.

The greeting of Chairman of the Executive Committee – CIS Executive Secretary Sergey Lebedev was delivered by his deputy Leonid Anfimov. The Executive Secretary emphasized the exceptional importance of the Convention for improving the electoral culture and harmonizing legislation in the Commonwealth countries.

The greeting of Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Ella Pamfilova was delivered by her deputy Nikolai Bulaev. The CEC Chair noted the great importance of establishing the CIS Advisory Board of the Heads of Election Administration Authorities and the Formation of Common Standards of Democratic Elections, which, in her opinion, would play an important role in coordinating and improving CIS electoral legislations.

Deputy Speaker of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Boris Chernyshov drew attention to the interest of students in the Conference.

IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong and President of the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) Guillermo Daniel Ortega Reyes sent video messages to the Conference participants.

CSTO PA Executive Secretary Sergei Pospelov spoke about the work of the CSTO to protect electoral sovereignty in a difficult foreign policy situation and prevent foreign interference in electoral processes.

OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella took part in the event via videoconferencing. He drew attention to the need to constantly maintain an open dialogue between parliamentary organizations in the world. Roberto Montella expressed hope to strengthen cooperation with the CIS countries in order to achieve concrete results and improve legislation in democratic countries.

Executive Secretary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union State of Belarus and Russia Sergey Strelchenko stressed the importance of developing election observation institutions and expressed confidence that the Conference would contribute to improving the standards of democratic elections.

TURKPA Secretary General Mehmet Süreyya Er emphasized the exceptional importance of elections in ensuring the direct participation of the people in state management. He expressed hope for the further development of cooperation between the TURKPA and the IPA CIS.

PABSEC Secretary General Asaf Hajiyev spoke about the importance of international cooperation in the field of election observation and ensuring democratic processes.

As part of the plenary session of the Conference, heads of election administration authorities from different countries made speeches: Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Armenia Tigran Mukuchyan, Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus Igor Karpenko, Chair of the Central Commission on Elections and Holding Referenda of the Kyrgyz Republic Nurzhan Shaildabekova, Deputy Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Nikolay Bulaev, Chair of the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of the Republic of Tajikistan Bakhtiyor Khudoyorzoda, Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan Zainiddin Nizamhojaev, Chair of the Republican Electoral Commission of the Republic of Serbia Vladimir Dimitrievic, Acting President of the National Elections Commission of the Arab Republic of Egypt Ahmed Abdel Azim Matar and President of the National Independent Electoral Commission of the Central African Republic Barthelemy Mathias Morouba.

At the end of the Solemn Plenary Session, Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy presented a draft resolution. The proposed draft resolution was adopted as a whole. The organizing committee of the Conference was instructed to finalize it in accordance with the suggestions and comments made.