DUSHANBE, December 16, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- A roundtable meeting to discuss activity of the CIS observer mission during elections within the CIS area in 2008 will be held in Minsk, Belarus on December 17.

According to Ms. Maria Gutsalo, a spokeswoman for the CIS Executive Committee, the meting will bring together representatives of parliaments, central election commissions and foreign ministries from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as CIS Parliamentary Assembly and permanent representatives of the CIS member nations to the CIS institutions to discuss issues related to modern elections and international election standards, interaction with other international organizations as well as share in organizing and holding long-term and short-term monitoring of election campaigns.

Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office for Election Affairs Kimmo Kiljunen and the OSCE/ODIHR Senior Election Expert Vadim Zhdanovich will also attend the meeting, Gutsalo said.