OSCE Sets Up Mission To Observe Kyrgyz Election

BISHKEK -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has set up a mission in Bishkek to observe the upcoming presidential election in Kyrgyzstan, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

The chairwoman of the political coalition For Democracy and Civil Society, Dinara Oshurakhunova, tells RFE/RL that the mission of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) will evaluate the election's concordance with OSCE standards and Kyrgyz legislation, without interfering in the election process itself.

The election is scheduled for July 23.

Incumbent President Kurmanbek Bakiev and opposition candidate Almazbek Atambaev are among six officially registered presidential contenders.