W. MUSAVIR:
NURSULTAN: The Central Election Commission (CEC) has accredited 125 international observers, including 22 long-term observers from the Election Observation Mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to observe Kazakhstan’s June 9 presidential election.
CEC Member Zauresh Baimoldina said to media that approximately 16 observers from foreign countries that represent the central electoral authorities of Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Malaysia, Moldova, Latvia, Russia and Turkey are also included in the list of observers.
The mission of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will include approximately 300 observers, including 20 long-term observers from the diplomatic corps accredited in the Kazakh capital and the CIS executive committee, said First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee – Executive Secretary of the CIS Viktor Guminsky. They will represent all countries of the Commonwealth, as well as various organisations.
“The CIS mission observers have extensive experience in observing elections in Kazakhstan, including the presidential elections. More than 700 observers from the CIS took part during the previous two election campaigns in 2015-2016. Starting from today, the monitoring mission has begun its work. We have established a mission headquarters, and today we are working on preparing our mission, fulfilling its functional duties to monitor the preparation and conduct of presidential elections,” he said.
The function of the headquarters is to conduct an accreditation of all observers who come from the CIS, prepare reference materials and extracts from regulatory legal acts, instruct and send observers to the region and organise interaction with the headquarters.
He noted that the most important function is “to monitor compliance with the transparency of all electoral processes.” “We also observe how the processes were carried out in accordance with the legislation during the opening of polling stations, whether there were any violations, for example, if a person voted twice. We need transparency and accessibility while counting votes,” he said.
The observers of the CIS mission will not be able to visit all the regions, as the funds for these expenses were not planned in the executive committee’s budget. “We will look for opportunities when our representatives can join other delegations in the regions. Kazakhstan is a big country. If the representatives of the headquarters cannot attend some locations, other observers will help us,” he said.
The ODIHR mission is led by Ambassador Urszula Gacek and consists of a core team of 12 experts based in Nur-Sultan. ODIHR has requested OSCE participating States to send 24 long-term observers and 300 short-term observers.
“The mission will assess the election’s compliance with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will closely monitor voter registration, candidate registration, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, and the resolution of election-related disputes. The mission will also monitor media coverage of the campaign,” reads the release.
The mission will meet with representatives of state authorities, political parties, civil society, the media, and the international community. On election day itself, the mission will join efforts with delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to monitor the opening of polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots and the tabulation of results.
NEARLY 10,000 POLLING STATIONS TO BE AVAILABLE FOR VOTERS
Kazakhstan will elect one of seven candidates for the country’s highest office June 9. Citizens will be able to vote in the presidential election at 9,970 polling stations, including 65 stations in 51 foreign countries. Each polling place will be open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. without lunch breaks.
According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), 11,814,019 Kazakh citizens are eligible to vote in the upcoming election. The CEC will also issue 118,140 extra ballots, representing one percent of the voter lists.
The voter lists were compiled according to a citizen’s place of residence. Police and volunteers confirmed the numbers during April 15-29 checkups.
Absentee ballot is the option for those who could not meet the deadline. They will be issued no earlier than 20 days before the election and close 6 p.m., June 8. Absentee ballots are issued in case of an emergency departure and allow voting at the place of a voter’s stay.
At temporal places of stay, particularly remote and inaccessible areas, areas of distant pasturing, sanatoriums, inpatient medical institutions, temporary detention facilities, military units or vessels at sea, citizens can also vote after applying to the nearest local executive body.
Citizens who cannot come to the polling station for health reasons or are caring for a sick family member should write a statement to his/her registered polling station no later than 12 p.m., June 9. Electoral commission members will come to them with a portable ballot box.
Citizens abroad can vote at Kazakh embassies and consulates. Voter lists at diplomatic missions include all citizens who hold a Kazakh passport and live in a relevant foreign country or are on a long-term foreign business trip. The list will also include Kazakh citizens who are visiting on private invitations or are on official, business and tourist trips, when they apply to the precinct election commission.
An electronic voting system will not be used. The Sailau system was introduced in the 2000s, but has never been reintroduced due to a wave of criticism from political parties, the public and observers. Only the paper ballots are used across the country.
Preliminary election results will be announced June 10-11.
Author is senior editor with Media Hub Int’l