Newsroom
OSCE Centre assesses local elections in Kazakhstan
ALMATY 13 October 2003
ALMATY, 13 October 2003 - The OSCE Centre in Almaty conducted a political assessment of the Maslikhat (local government) elections, that were concluded yesterday with a second round of voting.
More than 5.7 million citizens took part in the vote, the first round having taken place on 20 September. Over 3,000 local government officials were elected in a process that saw more than 8,000 citizens apply for registration as candidates. Turnout figures were given by the Kazakhstani Central Election Commission (CEC) as 56.4 per cent in the first round and 40.8 per cent in the second.
The OSCE's main election observation body, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) did not deploy a full-scale election observation mission, but instead sent a team of two experts for the first round. The team assisted the OSCE Centre in Almaty in conducting a political assessment of the elections in accordance with its mandate, which includes "promoting the implementation of OSCE principles and commitments." In the course of the two rounds, a number of OSCE Centre representatives and the ODIHR experts visited some 60 polling stations in Almaty and Almaty Oblast (province). However, due to the limited nature of this assessment, the OSCE/ODIHR cannot draw conclusions as to whether the Maslikhat elections, in general, met OSCE commitments for democratic elections.
Despite efforts undertaken by the CEC to provide training on polling and vote-count procedures, even limited election day observation demonstrated a lack of detailed knowledge of electoral norms by commission members. This resulted in inconsistent application and at times arbitrary implementation of the election law and CEC instructions. The presence of unauthorized individuals and law enforcement representatives in polling stations continued to be a serious problem. Some election commissions failed to create conditions conducive to observation by candidate proxies and domestic observers and certain observers had difficulty gaining access to polling stations due to a lack of uniform accreditation procedures.
Candidates reported that election commissions often made individual interpretations of the legal requirements for registration and for campaign financing, superseding provisions in the law. The delayed or partial disbursement of funds allocated to candidate from the state budget hampered the ability of some candidates to campaign. Some candidates, in particular from the opposition in Almaty, were the target of "black PR," false campaign materials that sought to discredit a candidate or his platform. Finally, in nearly 50per cent of constituencies there was only one candidate running for office, which limited the choice of voters.
89 electoral districts in Kazakhstan will re-run elections on 16 November, as no candidate succeeded in being elected. This process will start with the registration of new candidates, which concludes on 17 October.
More than 5.7 million citizens took part in the vote, the first round having taken place on 20 September. Over 3,000 local government officials were elected in a process that saw more than 8,000 citizens apply for registration as candidates. Turnout figures were given by the Kazakhstani Central Election Commission (CEC) as 56.4 per cent in the first round and 40.8 per cent in the second.
The OSCE's main election observation body, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) did not deploy a full-scale election observation mission, but instead sent a team of two experts for the first round. The team assisted the OSCE Centre in Almaty in conducting a political assessment of the elections in accordance with its mandate, which includes "promoting the implementation of OSCE principles and commitments." In the course of the two rounds, a number of OSCE Centre representatives and the ODIHR experts visited some 60 polling stations in Almaty and Almaty Oblast (province). However, due to the limited nature of this assessment, the OSCE/ODIHR cannot draw conclusions as to whether the Maslikhat elections, in general, met OSCE commitments for democratic elections.
Despite efforts undertaken by the CEC to provide training on polling and vote-count procedures, even limited election day observation demonstrated a lack of detailed knowledge of electoral norms by commission members. This resulted in inconsistent application and at times arbitrary implementation of the election law and CEC instructions. The presence of unauthorized individuals and law enforcement representatives in polling stations continued to be a serious problem. Some election commissions failed to create conditions conducive to observation by candidate proxies and domestic observers and certain observers had difficulty gaining access to polling stations due to a lack of uniform accreditation procedures.
Candidates reported that election commissions often made individual interpretations of the legal requirements for registration and for campaign financing, superseding provisions in the law. The delayed or partial disbursement of funds allocated to candidate from the state budget hampered the ability of some candidates to campaign. Some candidates, in particular from the opposition in Almaty, were the target of "black PR," false campaign materials that sought to discredit a candidate or his platform. Finally, in nearly 50per cent of constituencies there was only one candidate running for office, which limited the choice of voters.
89 electoral districts in Kazakhstan will re-run elections on 16 November, as no candidate succeeded in being elected. This process will start with the registration of new candidates, which concludes on 17 October.