Nurlan Abdirov visited the Karaganda region

From 29 September to 2 October, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurlan Abdirov visited the Karaganda region as part of the preparation and conduct of pilot elections of akims of districts and cities of regional significance, which are scheduled for 5 November 2023. The responsible members of the Central Election Commission’s office were also involved in the visit to the region.

During his trip to the Karaganda region N. Abdirov held meetings with students and rural youth, two seminars, and four meetings with residents and elected akims of villages, as well as attended three training sessions for members of election commissions using the cascade method.

On the first day of the visit, the CEC Chairman met with students of the leading economic university in the region - Karaganda University of Kazpotrebsoyuz, which was attended by 540 people.

At the meeting with young people, the Chairman of the CEC explained the essence of the constitutional reform implemented during the national referendum on 5 June 2022, spoke about the structure of electoral bodies, the peculiarities of the electoral process, the institution of local and international observation and the outcome of discussions on the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Missions for the early presidential and parliamentary elections, held at a special meeting of the Expert Council under the CEC on 28 September. In particular, he pointed out that one of the theses contained in the reports of international observers is the assertion of the absence of a competitive political environment. Meanwhile, the recent transition to a mixed electoral system was precisely designed to support pluralism, and, as a result, in the presidential and parliamentary elections of 2022-2023, the competition among candidates was the highest in the country’s history. In addition, the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR Mission to abolish the requirement for presidential candidates to know the Kazakh language and pass a language test, and the right of citizens with criminal records to run for elected office were discussed at the Expert Council meeting. The issue of promoting modern, alternative forms of voting was also raised.

These and other questions were covered in a now traditional online survey, in which 327 students participated with interest. As a result, almost 38% of the respondents supported the introduction of remote electronic voting, and 25.4% were in favour of mixed electronic voting (stationary, remote); 70.3% of the respondents believe that a candidate for the presidency of the country must know the state language and the language test is compulsory; 54.1% of the respondents answered that a citizen with a criminal record cannot be nominated for the elected positions of President, deputy, and akim. According to 42.2% of the respondents, a deputy elected on a party list cannot change his party affiliation once he has found himself within the walls of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and Maslikhat.

Summing up the results of the meeting, the Chairman of the CEC thanked the youth for their active participation during the meeting and called on them to actively exercise their constitutional right to elect and be elected during the election campaigns.

On the same day, Nurlan Abdirov met with 25 rural akims elected in direct elections, who shared their impressions of their election campaigns, as well as talked about their work, emerging problems in their current activities, communication with the population, and the status of civil servants. "Rural akims are such a class, really unique people who work around the clock and they should be supported", - emphasized at the meeting Kairat Nurgaliyev, akim of Kyzylkain rural district of Bukhar-Zhyrau district.

During the meeting with the elected rural akims, Nurlan Abdirov drew attention to the importance of holding the first direct elections of the akims of 42 districts and 3 cities of regional significance, as a continuation of the political reforms of the Head of State K.K.Tokayev. At the same time, the experience of holding elections of akims at the rural level, which is being developed in the country, is also important.

On 30 September, the Chairman of the CEC traveled to Aktogay district, where he first visited polling station No. 448 and familiarized himself with its infrastructure, material, and technical equipment. By the decision of the regional maslikhat, this district has been included in the number of pilot districts, where the akim will be elected by the residents of the district for the first time.

He then chaired a seminar meeting with representatives of election commissions, local executive and law enforcement bodies. "Direct elections of rayon akims are, in fact, absolutely new elections," Nurlan Abdirov emphasized at the meeting. The heads of the authorized state bodies and the territorial election commission reported on the work carried out in the district on voter lists, organizational, material, and technical support of the elections, creation of necessary conditions for physical accessibility of 38 polling stations for 619 citizens with disabilities and other important issues

 

The head of the CEC drew the attention of the local executive bodies to the uninterrupted supply of electricity, heat energy, Internet, the internal affairs bodies - to ensure public order, the emergency authorities - to the state of fire and other safety of polling stations, the readiness to take necessary measures in case of deterioration of weather conditions on the day of voting.

Afterward, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission held a meeting with the youth of Aktogay district, during which he emphasized that the strict implementation and observance of electoral legislation in all election campaigns, including the election of district akims, is an absolute priority in the activities of the CEC.

The participants were interested in discussing the necessary requirements for potential akims, such as higher education, sufficient practical work experience, communication, and public speaking skills, as well as qualities such as honesty, fairness, diligence, education, and many others. For example, according to young entrepreneur Indira Berikkyzy, an akim should be able to motivate residents to become involved in business and, in turn, provide them with sponsorship and other support to develop their businesses.

Daniyar Kaura, a specialist from the Department of Entrepreneurship, suggested that the requirements for district and village akims should be considered separately and that more young people should be recruited into the civil service to enable elected akims to fulfill their duties. Expanding on this theme, Almas Kairat, a young civil servant, expressed an opinion on the need to create an organization to involve young people in the civil service and provide them with professional support.

During his visit to the district, Nurlan Abdirov took part in the training of members of lower-level election commissions using the cascade method. He opened the event by stressing the importance of the Central Election Commission in providing methodological support and quality control to the on-site training seminars organized by the territorial election commissions.

The Head of the Central Election Commission then had live communication with the population and elected akims of Shabanbaybiy and Kyzylaray rural districts. The villagers were positive about the activities of their akims.

For example, Shyrai Zhailaubekova, a resident of the Shabanbay bi village, gave her assessment of the positive changes in the village: the opening of an alley, the installation of a bust of the leader of the "Alash" movement A.Bokeykhanov, and planned measures to improve the village. At the meeting, the residents also discussed the requirements for candidates for the position of akim.

On 1 October, officials from the CEC office visited Priozersk, where the akim elections will be held on 5 November. They familiarized themselves with the work of polling station No. 802 and held a training session with members of the election commissions.

On 2 October, Nurlan Abdirov visited Pionersky and Yesilsky rural districts in the Osakarovsky district and met with elected akims and the local population.

During the meetings, he discussed issues related to the election akims at the rural level. In response to a question from the Head of the CEC, the residents drew a socio-psychological portrait of the rural akim. According to them, the akim should have appropriate higher education and be responsible, live in his native village, and know the problems of the village and the region from the inside. In turn, the akim of Pionersky rural district Oralbek Amanzhol, a former migrant from Mongolia, who has lived in this village for about 30 years and worked in the akimat of this village and district for almost 10 years, expressed his opinion on the need for measures to keep young people in rural areas. The residents of both villages gave a positive assessment of the activities of their elected akims and considered the introduction of elections of village akims as a correct political decision.

Afterward, the Head of the Central Election Commission N.Abdirov held a seminar meeting with the participation of the heads of local executive bodies, the prosecutor's office, internal affairs bodies, and members of the Election Commission of Osakarov district, where he heard their reports on the ongoing work to prepare for the forthcoming elections of the district akim.

During the meeting, Nurlan Abdirov instructed the akimat and territorial election commissions to provide full information support for the election campaign and stressed the importance of providing equal opportunities for candidates to conduct their election campaign, including the provision of the necessary number of places for the placement of candidates’ election campaign materials.

The CEC Chairman’s visit to the region ended with the participation of 226 members of the Osakarov district election commissions in the cascade method training.