ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) accredited 793 observers from 41 foreign states and 12 international organizations, as the CEC wrapped up accreditation on March 13 at 6 p.m. Astana time, reported CEC Secretary Mukhtar Yerman at a March 13 CEC meeting in Astana.
Central Election Commission during the March 13 meeting. Photo credit: election.gov.kz.
Out of 793 observers, 473 observers from 17 foreign countries and nine international organizations were accredited.
Nine international organizations were represented by 284 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), 79 from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, eight from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Observer Mission, 22 from CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, one from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly, 16 from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), three from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), two from the Organization of Turkic States, and two observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM).
The ODIHR/OSCE mission and the CIS mission, which sent long-term and short-term observers, have historically been the two largest missions that observe the election in Kazakhstan, according to Yerman.
“The majority of observers will arrive a few days prior to the voting date. They will work not only in the capital but also in the regions,” he said.
Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa are represented by 17 states accredited, including Austria, Azerbaijan, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, Northern Macedonia, Russia, Romania, Philippines, South Africa, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, and the United States.
CEC Chairman Nurlan Abdirov said the presence of international observers at the election contributes to the openness and transparency of the campaign and ensures the state’s compliance with international obligations.
“The presence of international observers is also a confirmation of our commitment to international obligations and continuation of close cooperation with international organizations and foreign countries in the electoral sphere,” he added.
The elections of deputies of the Mazhilis, the lower house of the Kazakh Parliament, and maslikhats, local representative bodies, will take place on March 19.
