Candidates in Kyrgyzstan will not receive warnings for voter bribery, they will be immediately removed from the race. Uzarbek Zhylkybaev, a member of the Central Election Commission (CEC), announced on Birinchi Radio.
He explained that for violations of campaign rules, the process is as follows:
- First violation — a fine;
- Second violation — a warning;
- Two warnings — the CEC may cancel the candidate’s registration and disqualify them from the elections.
Zhylkybaev stressed that campaigners must clearly understand the rules regarding campaigning and defamation.
«Defamation is prohibited. One candidate has already filed a complaint against the media outlet claiming defamation. We’ll investigate, and perhaps law enforcement agencies will take it up,» the CEC member noted.
Under Article 65 of the Code on Offenses:
- A violation by a voter, observer, candidate, or their representative carries a fine of 75 calculated rates (7,500 soms);
- The same violation by a media outlet incurs a fine of 100 calculated rates (10,000 soms) for individuals and 280 rates (28,000 soms) for legal entities;
- If committed by a political party or its representative, the fine is 200 calculated rates (20,000 soms) for individuals and 650 rates (65,000 soms) for legal entities.
The official campaign period for the early parliamentary elections began on November 10 and will last 20 days, until November 29. By law, campaigning must stop one day before voting, on the «day of silence.»
