Strong and Inclusive Parliamentary Democracy

Project completed

The parliamentary democracy in Kyrgyzstan still needs to be strengthened. The project will institutionalise systems allowing the Parliament to held the government accountable for its performance in public service delivery. An increased citizens' participation in the development of national policies will help to identify adequate solutions to people's need and priorities. In this process, citizens will have an oversight on the work and performance of the Parliament and its members.

Country/region Topic Period Budget
Kyrgyzstan
Governance
nothemedefined
Democratic participation and civil society
15.11.2015 - 30.04.2021
CHF  3’800’000
Background

The recent gains of democratic transformation do not appear to have solidified considering a highly volatile political situation. Significant risks to stability continue to emanate from growing nationalism, potential risks related to violent extremism, and authoritarianism. Ineffective governance and inefficient management of public resources is an everyday reality, due to significant weaknesses in democratic accountability of government at the national level, reduced managerial capacity, and limited monitoring and opacity of government at all levels. A large group of the population remains weakly integrated and consulted regarding decisions that determine their livelihoods. The Parliament, which is supposed to play a central role in a parliamentary democracy, falls short of ensuring sufficient oversight of government and conveying the needs of communities to government. 

Objectives

Citizens benefit from responsive, inclusive and accountable institutions.

Target groups

Three selected parliamentary committees:

  • “Committee on Constitutional Law, State Structure, Judicial and Legal Issues and Internal Procedures”
  • “Committee on Budget and Finances"
  • “Committee on Social Issues, Education, Science, Culture and Health Care”

In addition, the Forum for Women members of parliament (MP); parliamentary staffers; CSOs; Public Councils; Government Apparatus and selected line ministries corresponding to selected parliamentary committees; Ombudsman Office; Chamber of Accounts.

Medium-term outcomes
  • Parliament sets national strategic priorities in accordance with citizens’ needs, and oversees their implementation by the government
  • Civil society actors promote active citizenship and effectively influence political processes to better serve the needs and priorities of the country’s citizens
Results

Results from previous phases:  

Key result from Voice and Accountability project (VAP): Accountability and transparency in public service delivery at the local level is increased through citizens’ participation.

The lessons learnt from SDC-funded governance projects are:

  • Intervention at national level is needed in order to sustain gains from governance projects implemented at the local level
  • A project at parliamentary level is needed as a follow-up intervention to strengthening democratic elections project – longer term efforts are crucial, since technical improvements will be lost without strengthening the national governance system
  • Request to support parliamentary democracy stems from bilateral Kyrgyz-Swiss visits at the highest political level, where Swiss democratic expertise has been requested


Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Credit area Swiss cooperation with Eastern Europe
Project partners Contract partner
Private sector
United Nations Organization (UNO)
  • Foreign private sector North
  • United Nations Development Programme


Other partners
  • Parliament: parliamentarians and staffers
  • Government: Government’s administration and line ministries
  • Civil society
Coordination with other projects and actors

Swiss projects: Voice and Accountability (VAP); Public Service Improvement (PSI); Strengthening Democratic Practices in the Election Processes in the Kyrgyz Republic; Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Capacity Building in Public Finance Management. Other projects: parliamentary support of the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE); and civil society support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the European Union (EU), the Soros Foundation, and others.

Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    3’800’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    3’321’334
Project phases

Phase 1 15.11.2015 - 30.04.2021   (Completed)