Main Topic of Plenary Session of IPA CIS - Role of International Election Observation in Development of Democracy

22 November 2024

Main Topic of Plenary Session of IPA CIS - Role of International Election Observation in Development of Democracy

The fifty-seventh plenary session of the IPA CIS was held at the Tavricheskiy Palace, the headquarters of the IPA CIS. The Heads of Parliamentary delegations discussed the role of international election observation in promoting democracy and safeguarding the state sovereignty of the Commonwealth States.

The session was attended by parliamentary delegations and their leaders, including Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko,

Speaker of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova, Vice President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Ruben Rubinyan, Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Maulen Ashimbayev, Speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic Nurlanbek Shakiev, Speaker of the Majlisi Milli of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan Rustami Emomali, Speaker of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbaeva. The event was also attended by Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy and CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev.

“In the current geopolitical situation, the issue of protecting state sovereignty is relevant for all countries in the region”, noted Valentina Matvienko. She emphasized that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the IPA CIS’s monitoring of electoral processes. A few days ago, an international conference was held, dedicated to the experience and practical results of work in this area.

According to Valentina Matvienko, the IPA CIS intends to define the legal framework for the concept of ”electoral sovereignty“ in order to protect the interests of the Assemblys Member Nations during elections.

At the 57th plenary session, the MPs of the Commonwealth adopted Recommendations on Monitoring Electronic Voting and Recommendations on Ensuring and Protecting the Electoral Sovereignty of States.

In addition, the delegates approved 19 more documents focused on social and environmental issues, as well as Model Laws in the areas of public administration, science, and education.

The event was attended by Chair of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Issues of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Contacts with Fellow Countrymen Leonid Kalashnikov,  Chair of the Coordination Service to CIS Joint Chiefs of Border Guards Alexander Manilov, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Alexander Belsky, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Valery Moskalenko.