Election-related Legal Opinions and Comments

The legal framework of elections in Kazakhstan has been the subject of consultations between the authorities of Kazakhstan and OSCE/ODIHR. In the course of these consultations, OSCE/ODIHR presented recommendations on the electoral law prior to the October 1999 parliamentary elections. Additional comments were contained in the needs assessment mission report (25 August 1999) and in the final report (20 January 2000). The authorities of Kazakhstan accepted to continue consultations on the election law, based on the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations. On 2 September 2000, during the first round table discussion on elections, the parties agreed on a timetable for further round tables in 2001. The following recommendations will focus on the issues to be discussed in January 2001, such as the independence and formation of election commissions, and election procedures, including the transparency of the vote count and tabulation procedures. The following comments on the legal framework of elections in Kazakhstan are based on the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan” signed by the President on 28 June 1999. Some additional comments are provided on the instructions issued by the Central Election Commission (CEC) through the latter part of 1999.

This report provides brief comments on the Armenian Electoral Code (“the Code”). It includes suggestions on possible amendments, some of which are needed to promote compliance with relevant international standards and OSCE commitments; others are of a more technical nature. It is based on an unofficial English translation of the Code, the accuracy of which has not been verified.

Since 1998, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has been assisting the authorities of Azerbaijan to develop election legislation in line with OSCE commitments. In particular, in the course of 2000 the ODIHR provided assistance for the drafting of the Law on the Central Election Commission and the Law on Parliamentary Elections (the Law). On 30 May 2000, the ODIHR submitted to the authorities and representatives of political parties Preliminary Comments on the Law on Parliamentary Elections of the Republic of Azerbaijan (the Preliminary Comments), based on a draft Law provided by the authorities of Azerbaijan. Further discussions were subsequently held between the ODIHR experts and relevant authorities to clarify a number of the provisions contained in the draft Law. The following are Final Comments based on an unofficial translation of the Law, provided by the International Foundation for Election System. This document supplements the Preliminary Comments and is intended to be read in conjunction with that report. It provides comments on the final text as enacted on 5 July 2000 and amended on 21 July. The analysis emphasises some of the major areas of concern with the law and contains a number of recommendations for amendments and clarifications to improve the election legislation, in line with international standards and, in particular, the OSCE commitments formulated in the 1990 Copenhagen Document on the Human Dimension.