NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Central Election Commission (CEC) accredited 190 foreign observers and reported on the explanatory works regarding voter lists procedures to the upcoming regular parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan during the Dec. 22 commission’s meeting.
Anastasia Shchegortsova. Photo credit: Election.gov.kz.
As of Dec. 22, the CEC has accredited 276 international observers since the Oct. 22 opening of the Institute for International Election Observation, said CEC member Anastasia Shchegortsova. This number includes the newly added 190 observers from four international organizations and 14 foreign states.
The four international organizations nominated 167 observers. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Observer Mission nominated 142 observers, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly – nine observers, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Limited Election Observation Mission – two observers, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) observer missions – 14 observers.
The CEC separately explained all the stages of the parliamentary elections to the CIS Observer Mission during the Dec. 21 meeting. The mission will observe elections in Kazakhstan for the 14th time this time around.
The Kazah Foreign Ministry also submitted 23 candidates from 14 foreign countries for accreditation. Romania nominated three observers. Armenia, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Turkey, India, the Philippines, Swiss Confederation each submitted two candidates. Azerbaijan, Hungary, Spain, Norway, Russia, and France each nominated one observer.
According to CEC Deputy Chair Konstantin Petrov, to increase voter turnout the CEC spread posters explaining the procedures among its official web resources, social pages, and public places. National television channels and radio stations have run the video and audio-explanations over 600 times between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10. Print media published 12 modules with the explanations. Five internet resources rotated a banner reaching 47.6 million views.
Voters could check their status at call-centers organized by local executive bodies. The call centers have been operating since the beginning of the electoral campaign. They have already received approximately 42,000 calls. Kazakh citizens will have the right to check their inclusion in the voter lists at local election commissions from Dec. 26, said Petrov. Changes to the voter lists after the start of the vote count is prohibited.
