OREANDA-NEWS. November 28, 2008. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Turkmen National Institute for Democracy and Human Rights under President of Turkmenistan with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized the final conference International Standards and Strengthening Potential of Election Commissions in Turkmenistan in Ashgabat. The forum was held in the framework of the joint project Cooperation for Strengthening Electoral System and Processes in Turkmenistan initiated by the Government of Turkmenistan.

The deputies of the Mejlis, international experts, representatives of the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of Turkmenistan, chairpersons and executive secretaries of the velayat and town district electoral committees, national observers, representatives of the large public organisations and their velayat branches and journalists participated in the conference held in the conference hall of the NIDHR.

Summing up the project activities the conference participants unanimously called for maintaining fruitful collaboration and appreciated the effectiveness of multilateral consultations. The key trends in this co-operation included implementing the international norms and standards into the national election legislation, bringing it in compliance with the international conventions and agreement joined by Turkmenistan. The forum participants noted that in the light of the important social and political actions – the election to the national Parliament this aspect acquired special importance.

Addressing the conference UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Mr. Richard Young said that the world community showed sincere interest in the large-scale legal reform initiated in Turkmenistan by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. One of the achievements of this reform was adoption of the new Constitution. Mr. Richard Young noted that the new version of the Constitution had intensified the democratic principles of the electoral system of Turkmenistan. In this fundamental document the essential norms on elections were brought in compliance with the existing international standards. The UN Resident Coordinator expressed belief that the parliamentarian elections that the international experts, observers from the foreign countries and the authoritative international organisations including UN and OSCE would take part in would be held in accordance with the existing national legislation and international law norms.