Civic Participation in Discussion of Draft “Amendments and Additions to the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic”
The project goal was to conduct a series of roundtables to ensure citizens’ participation in the discussions of the upcoming Referendum on the Constitutional Reform. Public Association Counterpart-Sheriktesh organized and conducted 40 roundtables in target villages with participation of 949 people, representing grass-root organizations. In addition, the Kyrgyz Bar Association and PA Counterpart-Sheriktesh conducted 2 roundtables in Bishkek for legal experts and representatives of so-called think tank NGOs. The roundtable participants discussed amendments to the Constitution proposed by the National Government and made appeals reflecting views of the civil society organizations. The ultimate goal of the roundtables was to increase awareness of the population in the proposed amendments and ensure conscious voting. The roundtables culminated in the one-day national conference held in Bishkek. About 80 people, representing grass-root organizations, NGOs, international agencies, higher education institutions and the ministry of Justice, attended the conference. The main recommendations were (1) to vote separately on each proposed amendment, and (2) to postpone the Referendum on Constitution amendments in order to have more time to increase awareness of the population. The final statement was sent to the members of the Constitutional Panel and channelled back to the grass-root level. PA Counterpart-Sheriktesh conducted the press conference to publicize results of this campaign, which contributed a lot to the decision of the President to postpone the Referendum.
Type of services provided:
- Development of social partnership at grass root and national level, including the capacity of social partners to conduct active and effective social dialogue
- Publishing of materials related to the Constitutional reform
- Communication campaign targeted at social partners