CENTRAL COMMISSION FOR HOLDING ELECTIONS AND REFERENDUMS IN TURKMENISTAN
After World War II the United Nations General Assembly (UN) adopted a number of international documents on the protection of human rights and freedoms around the world including the right to vote.
Here are some of the international documents that also include voting rights:
1) Universal declaration of human rights (December 10, 1948, New York City);
2) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (December 16, 1966, New York City);
3) International Convention on the slimination of all forms of racial discrimination (December 21, 1965, New York);
4) Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (December 18, 1979, New York City).
These UN documents, within the framework of the norms on human rights and freedoms, also describe the norms of their electoral rights.
Over time, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States have adopted international documents defining the basic obligations and rights of member States related to elections.
Here are some of them:
1) Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the human dimension of the Organization for security and co-operation in Europe (June 29, 1990, Copenhagen);
2) Convention on the standards of democratic elections, electoral rights and freedoms in the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (October 7, 2002, Chisinau).
The Copenhagen declaration describes the right to vote along with rights in other areas. The Convention on Electoral Rights and Freedoms of Citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States defines only the norms of electoral rights.
At the same time with the Copenhagen Document, there is also a document on electoral rights adopted by the structure of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in particular the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), entitled “Handbook for Long-Term Election Observers. Observation Before and After Election Day” (OSCE/ODIHR, 2007, Warsaw).
The Declaration of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States “On the Principles of International Observation of Elections and Referendums in the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States” (November 25, 2008, St. Petersburg) is also valid.
It is worth noting that numerous other international documents have been adopted by the above-mentioned and other international organizations in order to protect human rights and freedoms, including the right to vote.
These international documents regulating electoral rights are useful to voters, election organizers, observers, representatives of political parties, media representatives and other parties interested in electoral issues.
The Constitution of Turkmenistan recognizes the priority of generally recognized norms of international law and the Electoral Code states that if international treaties of Turkmenistan establish rules other than those provided for by the Electoral Code of Turkmenistan, the norms of international treaties apply.
Gandymov Amangeldi,
Deputy chairman of the Central commission for holding elections and referendums in Turkmenistan.