Turkic States strengthen cooperation in the field of elections

On 13-15 May 2025, TURKPA delegation led by Secretary General Mehmet Süreyya Er visited the city of Turkistan, Kazakhstan, to take part in the signing ceremony of the Regulations on the Advisory Platform of the Central Election Authorities (APCEA) of the Member States of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), and related events. Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurlan Abdirov, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mazahir Panahov, Chairman of the Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of the Kyrgyz Republic Tynchtyk Shainazarov, Chairman of the Supreme Election Council of the Republic of Türkiye Ahmet Yener, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Uzbekistan Zayniddin Nizamkhodjaev, Secretary General of the OTS Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Secretary General of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) In-sik Jang, Secretary General of TURKPA Mehmet Süreyya Er, Vice President of the Turkic Academy Askhat Kessikbaev, Head of the Organizational Department at the Secretariat of the National Election Office of Hungary Istvan Toth, as well as the Akim of Turkestan region Nuralkhan Kusherov took part in the events. Signing ceremony of the Regulations on the APCEA of the Member States of the OTS took place on 14 May. Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurlan Abdirov made an opening speech at the ceremony. He read the welcome message of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the participants of the event. Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Maulen Ashimbayev and Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerlan Koshanov also sent welcome messages, which were read by the member of the Senate Darkhan Kydyrali and member of the Mazhilis Snezhanna Imasheva, respectively. In his speech, Secretary General Mehmet Süreyya Er expressed his pleasure to be once again in the city of Turkistan, which is of deep historical, cultural and spiritual significance for the Turkic World. He noted that the signing of the Regulations on the APCEA was a necessary step towards the institutionalization and shift to regular base of the existing cooperation between the election administration bodies of the Turkic states and that this was another manifestation of the shared vision of our states for the Turkic cooperation and democratic governance. Secretary General mentioned that each Turkic state had its unique experience in election administration and in this context, underscored that permanent advisory mechanism among the central election authorities was of great importance in terms of exchanging best practices and safeguarding our democracies against common challenges. He touched on the election and referendum observation activities of TURKPA as the contribution of the Organization to the holding of democratic, fair and transparent elections in Turkic states, and underlined the readiness for close cooperation with the central election authorities of the Turkic states. On the sidelines of the event, Secretary General Mehmet Süreyya Er gave interview to the media outlets. On the same day, an international scientific-practical conference themed “The Turkic World: Traditions, Practice, and Prospects for the Development of Electoral Systems” took place. The conference was organized jointly with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the Khoja Ahmed Yasawi International Kazakh-Turkish University and featured a plenary session and two sessions titled “Electoral Traditions in the Turkic Community” and “Analysis of Electoral Systems in Turkic States: Achievements and Prospects”. Within the framework of the visit program, Secretary General Mehmet Süreyya Er had a bilateral meeting with the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurlan Abdirov, on 13 May. The social part of the program included visits to the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, “Visit Center” and Ethno Village, presentation of Ethno-Cultural Centers at the “House of Friendship” building, book exhibition and exhibition of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the Khoja Ahmed Yasawi International Kazakh-Turkish University and tree-planting ceremony at the Botanical Garden of the University, as well as watching the performance of “The Legend of Korkyt” at the Turkistan Musical Drama Theatre and Fountain Show at the “Karavan-Saray” tourist complex. During the events, Secretary General was accompanied by the staff members of the TURKPA Secretariat Azar Mammadov and Shakhida Mekhdieva. The establishment of the Platform was initiated by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during the 10th Summit of the OTS held in Astana on 3 November 2023. The initiative was supported by the Heads of Turkic States and was reflected in the Bishkek Declaration of the 11th Summit of the OTS signed on 6 November 2024.