Europe's top security organization says it will have an observer mission in Kyrgyzstan to monitor the July 10 presidential election.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the OSCE, says it will "assess the entire election process" in terms of its compliance with international standards for democratic elections.
The OSCE mission consists of 15 election experts based in Bishkek and 26 long-term observers deployed to various regions of Kyrgyzstan. About 300 short-term observers will join the mission just before the polls.
The OSCE move follows allegations of official abuses during the Kyrgyz parliamentary polls earlier this year which triggered public protests that ousted the unpopular government in March.
The presidential election is seen as a major democracy test for the new Kyrgyz leadership.
Some information for this report provided by AFP.
