On 4 March, the work of informational buses was presented in Kant city, located in Chui oblast.  Buses are aiming to provide services on biometric registration, passport exchange, permanent address registration, issuing electronic digital keys and providing information regarding upcoming local council elections. The event was joined by Mrs.  Nurzhan Shaildabekova, the Chair of the Central Elections Committee of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mrs.  Ainura Tuibaeva, Deputy Chair of the State Registry Service, Ms. Minori Shimizu, Attaché at Japan Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic and Mrs. Louise Chamberlain, UNDP Resident Representative in the Kyrgyz Republic. 

Mrs. Nurzhan Shaildabekova, the CEC Chair has opened the meeting and stated the following: Voters can specify themselves in the lists on the portal "Tizme" by simply typing their address and surname, they can also find out their polling station by sending an SMS to the number 119 with the PIN number specified in the passport and get information about the number and address of their polling station. The CEC partnered with SRS sent 11 buses to all regions of the country.

Two cars were sent to the Chui region in the eastern and western zones. From March 3, the bus is located in Issyk-Ata district and will stay until March 6, inclusive. According to the Issyk-Ata district, 5335 people did not pass biometrics, and at the suggestion of the Issyk-Ata district administration, those villages from which applications were received were allocated.

Following this, Mrs. Ainura Tuibaeva, the Chair of the SRS said: «The State Registration Service of UNDP with the help of the Japanese Government in 2018 handed over 16 minibuses. To date, the mobile buses travel to citizens living in nursing homes, veterans of WWII, POWs, as well as orphans and children from orphanages on a free-of-charge basis. We expect that this large-scale campaign will help every citizen of our country to realize their registration and voting rights».

Ms. Minori Shimizu, Japan Embassy Attaché has addressed participants on behalf of the Ambassador of Japan Shigeki Maeda and added: «The Government of Japan has consistently supported the implementation of transparent and fair elections in the Kyrgyz Republic in cooperation with UNDP since 2015. Specifically, for two parliamentary elections, two presidential elections as well as following elections, the Government of Japan provided funding of more than $11 million, mainly for the procurement of electronic equipment necessary for voter registration and identification system. Today I am happy to see that the system supported by us is efficiently utilised in every election. Transparent and fair elections are the foundation of democracy, and Japan will continue to support efforts of the Kyrgyz Republic to reinforce the democracy».

In conclusion, Mrs. Louise Chamberlain, UNDP RR has emphasized on the following: «A fully democratic election is inclusive for the entire population, including people who live in remote areas or for other reasons have difficulty to access registration. With this measure, UNDP is supporting the country stakeholders to reach those furthest behind and make sure that they have access to register and participate effectively in elections. We are very glad to see the CEC, SRS and local authorities cooperating closely to make this happen and work to eliminate the marginalization of eligible voters».

The mobile voter biometric registration buses campaign has been launched recently, aimed at provision of following services to the public, including biometric data registration, passport exchange, registration at the place of permanent residence, electronic digital signature obtaining. It is expected that the 11 buses equipped with necessary tools and specialists will travel to 130 cities and villages of the country between 1 March – 20 March 2021.

Citizens will be able to learn more about the campaign and the local council elections via the Call Center at 1255. The schedule of the buses is available here. 

Photos from the event