Press release on the results of accreditation of international 

observers and the progress of accreditation of national observers

On March 13, as part of the preparation and holding of elections of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a regular meeting of the Central Election Commission was held under the chairmanship of Nurlan Abdirov.

The issues of accreditation of international and national observers, the results of accreditation of observers of foreign states and international organisations, as well as the provision of sanitary and preventive measures on voting day at the early elections of members of the Mazhilis and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan, scheduled for March 19, 2023, were considered.

Territorial election commissions of the regions, Astana, Almaty and Shymkent, as well as CEC member Shavkhat Utemissov, who was in the Atyrau region with an inspection trip, took part in the meeting in the videoconferencing mode.

Representatives of political parties, mass media, senior officials of the Prosecutor General’s Office, ministries of foreign affairs, justice, internal affairs, finance, information and social development, and healthcare were also invited.

Traditionally, representatives of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission and the Mission of Observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States took part in the meeting. As always, the meeting was provided by sign language translation and broadcast via the website and Youtube.

Opening the meeting, Nurlan Abdirov noted that since February 21, members of the Central Election Commission have made inspection visits to the regions in order to provide methodological and practical assistance to election commissions as part of the preparation and conduct of elections to the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the republic. To date, 19 regions were visited and, as already noted, Shavkhat Utemissov is on a business trip in the twentieth region.

During inspection visits to the regions, members of the Central Election Commission got acquainted with the work of territorial and district election commissions, made sure that polling stations were ready, and held meetings with the participation of heads of regional structures of state bodies to prepare for the upcoming elections.

Particular attention was paid to preparing polling stations for voting day and creating the necessary conditions for citizens, including persons with disabilities and special needs. A training session was held with members of territorial, district and precinct election commissions to prepare members of commissions using the Voting Day business game.

Based on the results of the meetings held, the chairpersons of territorial and district election commissions received specific instructions to equip polling stations, taking into account accessibility and convenience for all citizens and ensuring conditions for effective observation on voting day.

Turning to the first issue on the agenda, the CEC Chairman said that, in accordance with the regulatory provisions of the Constitutional Act on Elections, the accreditation of observers of foreign states and international organisations shall end five days before the voting day, local time, that is, today, on March 13 at 18.00.

Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission Mukhtar Yerman made a report on this issue and said that since the opening of the Institution of International Observation, 322 observers from 34 foreign states and 9 international organisations have been accredited.

As part of today’s meeting, 473 observers from 17 foreign states and 9 international organisations were submitted for accreditation: 1 candidate each from Austria, Mongolia, Russia, North Macedonia and the Republic of South Africa; 2 candidates each from Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Hungary, Romania and France; 3 each from the Philippines, Finland and Japan; 4 candidates each from Germany and Turkey; 5 candidates from Uzbekistan; 19 candidates from the USA; 284 candidates from the OSCE/ODIHR Mission; 79 candidates from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly; 8 candidates from the Mission of Observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States; 22 candidates from the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly; 1 candidate from the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly; 16 candidates from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization; 3 candidates from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation; 2 candidates each from the Organization of Turkic States and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.

Mukhtar Yerman said that the CEC received a submission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about receiving a note on the withdrawal of accreditation of 2 representatives of Canada accredited earlier as short-term observers in the OSCE/ODIHR Mission, and a note on the impossibility of participating in the observation of 2 members of the Mission of the Organization of Turkic States and the need to make changes to the composition of this Mission. In this regard, the Central Election Commission adopted a corresponding resolution.

CEC member Anastassiya Schegortsova spoke on the second issue of the meeting and informed that one of the novelties of the current election campaign is the accreditation of public associations and non-profit organisations to observe the elections.

As previously reported, public associations and non-profit organisations whose charters provide election observation activities are subject to accreditation. Political parties do not require accreditation to observe.

Accreditation is not tied to any particular election campaign. To obtain accreditation, one shall submit an application to the relevant election commission in the form and an extract from the charter confirming the right to observe the elections.

The certificate of accreditation is issued for one year and gives republican public associations and non-profit organisations the right to participate in all elections on the territory of the republic, regional public associations and non-profit organisations – in elections within those regions where their structural divisions are located, and local public associations and non-profit organisations receive the right to participate in all elections within the same region.

Anastassiya Schegortsova also noted that to date, 10 public associations and non-profit organisations have been accredited by the CEC. They can monitor all 20 regions of the country. Territorial election commissions issued certificates of accreditation to 201 organisations. They will observe all elections within the areas where they are accredited and where they have branches.

The register of organisations accredited for monitoring is posted on the website of the Central Election Commission and is constantly updated.

The third issue on the agenda was summing up the results of accreditation of observers from foreign states and international organisations at the early elections of Mazhilis members to the Parliament. CEC Secretary Mukhtar Yerman delivered a report.

He said that since the opening of the Institution of International Observation, the Central Election Commission has adopted 11 resolutions. Today at 18.00 hours accreditation is completed. In total, 793 observers from 41 foreign countries and 12 international organisations were accredited.

Commenting on the issue, Nurlan Abdirov stressed that the presence of international observers at the elections contributes to the openness and publicity of the campaign, the observance of international obligations by the state. The presence of international supervision is also a confirmation of our commitment to international obligations and the continuation of close cooperation with international organisations, foreign states in the electoral sphere.

The head of the Central Election Commission also drew attention to the participation in the observation of the delegation of the Central Election Commissions of 16 countries, 5 of which were headed by their chairpersons.

During the meeting, the CEC Chairman also noted that to date, 11 legal entities, in accordance with the Constitutional Act, have notified the CEC of conducting public opinion polls. Information about them is posted on the official website.

He also drew attention to the fact that, in accordance with the regulatory provisions of the Constitutional Act on Elections, it is not allowed to publish the results of a public opinion poll, forecasts of election results, other research related to elections, voting for or against candidates on the Internet within five days before voting day and on election day. Thus, today, March 13, is the last day for the announcement of the results of the survey. From tomorrow it is forbidden to publish, as well as reprint information about the results of the survey.

On the fourth issue of the agenda on the epidemiological situation in the country and measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection on the voting day, Vice Minister of Healthcare – Chief State Sanitary Doctor Aizhan Yesmagambetova made a report.

She said that the epidemiological situation of coronavirus infection in the country is stable. Up to 100 cases of COVID-19 are registered per day.

According to the matrix for assessing the epidemiological situation, the republic and all regions are in the green zone.

At the same time, the seasonal rise in the incidence of ARVI and influenza continues. Since the beginning of the epidemic season (from October 1, 2022), 3.8 million cases of acute respiratory viral infections and 3,234 cases of influenza have been registered. An average of 160,000 cases of acute respiratory viral infections are registered weekly.

Currently, in addition to influenza, ARVI and coronavirus infection, there is a complication of the epidemiological situation with measles. In Kazakhstan, 56 cases of suspected measles were registered, 20 of them were laboratory confirmed.

Aizhan Yesmagambetova stressed that the format of the elections involves the simultaneous presence of members of election commissions, observers and proxies at the polling station. In this regard, given the current situation in the republic on measles, coronavirus infection, as well as the course of the epidemiological season for the incidence of acute respiratory viral infections and influenza, during early elections, the Ministry of Health recommended regulating the flow of participants of the electoral process, without allowing crowds of people, ensuring the uninterrupted functioning of the air ventilation system in the premises, ventilation of premises and regular wet cleaning with the use of disinfectants before the start of voting and throughout the day.

Traditionally, as after each meeting, a briefing was held for the media, during which members of the Central Election Commission and invited representatives of state bodies answered all the questions of journalists.