LSG issues in the new Constitution (UNDP, 2010)

Location: Kyrgyzstan

Period: May 2010 – August 2010

Involved: project design, implementation

Objective:

• Ensure citizen participation in discussions of the new Constitution with a focus on Chapter 8 about Local Government

Activities:

• Citizen survey (2,000 respondents).
• Local governments survey (200 respondents out of total 484 rural and urban local governments).
• Analysis, development of recommendations.
• Design of information brochures. Information campaign on surveys’ results, including wide presentations to policy makers.

DPI conducted a survey of heads of local self-government. The survey was conducted by DPI team through phone interviews of 200 heads of local self-governments, including the heads of cities, ail districts and mayors, their deputies and the former heads of local self-government were interviewed as well.

The survey results were presented to the Constitutional Council. One of the main results was that the election were identified as the most desirable way to determine the heads of cities and villages. This principle was adopted by the Constitutional Council and reflected in the new Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Other results:

• collected, analyzed and summarized the various options of system setup of local self-government in the interests of communities, the current political situation, the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government;
• formulated and presented to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic proposals for changes in the above-mentioned laws in area of local self-government.