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Roundtable spotlights forthcoming electoral processes in Kazakhstan
ALMATY 13 May 2003
ALMATY, 13 May 2003 - Political actors in Kazakhstan, meeting at a roundtable co-organized by the OSCE, view the current electoral calendar as a key part of the ongoing process for strengthening democratic institutions in the country.
Members of political parties, organizations, electoral commissions and independent domestic observers took part today in a roundtable in Almaty on coming electoral processes. They discussed the electoral calendar for 2003-2004, the state of development of electoral legislation and procedures, the preparedness of electoral commissions and independent domestic observation efforts, and the role of international observation in this process.
The roundtable was organized by the OSCE Centre in Almaty, in conjunction with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Delegation of the European Commission.
There was a strong feeling among the majority of participants that local and parliamentary elections should be held independently of each other to allow political parties to adequately prepare, to build their constituencies and to use the process as a way of developing their political structures and programmes.
Participants noted that a long-term view of development was important to allow elections to take place in a more informed environment, both from the perspective of parties as well as from voters, and to increase public confidence in a more predictable system of elections.
The participating institutions saw this as an important first step in a series of discussion in this field and expressed their desire for further dialogue involving all sides in the future.
Members of political parties, organizations, electoral commissions and independent domestic observers took part today in a roundtable in Almaty on coming electoral processes. They discussed the electoral calendar for 2003-2004, the state of development of electoral legislation and procedures, the preparedness of electoral commissions and independent domestic observation efforts, and the role of international observation in this process.
The roundtable was organized by the OSCE Centre in Almaty, in conjunction with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Delegation of the European Commission.
There was a strong feeling among the majority of participants that local and parliamentary elections should be held independently of each other to allow political parties to adequately prepare, to build their constituencies and to use the process as a way of developing their political structures and programmes.
Participants noted that a long-term view of development was important to allow elections to take place in a more informed environment, both from the perspective of parties as well as from voters, and to increase public confidence in a more predictable system of elections.
The participating institutions saw this as an important first step in a series of discussion in this field and expressed their desire for further dialogue involving all sides in the future.