On December 4, 2020, a meeting of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held

        

As part of the election campaign for the elections of deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan, scheduled for January 10, 2020, a meeting of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held.

The meeting of the Central Election Commission was attended by representatives of political parties, General Prosecutor's Office, Ministries of Justice, Internal Affairs and Finance, territorial election commissions in the videoconferencing mode, and representatives of the media - online.

The following issues were considered at the meeting:

1. "On registration of the party list of "ADAL" Political Party Public Association at the regular elections of deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, scheduled for January 10, 2021";

2. "On registration of the party list of "Ak Zhol" Democratic Party of Kazakhstan Public Association at the regular elections of deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, scheduled for January 10, 2021";

3. "On the issues of exercising the powers of certain categories of participants in the electoral process for election of deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan."

Member of the Central Election Commission Assylbek Smagulov made a report on the first and second issues of the agenda.

He said that on November 27, 2020, "ADAL" Political Party and "Ak Zhol" Democratic Party of Kazakhstan on the nomination of candidates for the election of deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan submitted documents to the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

To be elected as a deputy of the Mazhilis, a candidate must be a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan; have lived in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the last 10 years; be at least 25 years old; have an active right to vote. In accordance with Article 89 of the Constitutional Act "On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan", only one list from one political party is allowed for registration, with the number of persons included in it not exceeding the established number of deputy mandates distributed among political parties by thirty percent. In the party list, the number of women and persons under the age of twenty-nine must be at least thirty percent of the total number of persons included in it.

The party list of "ADAL" Political Party Public Association includes 16 people, 5 of which are women and persons under the age of twenty-nine, which is 31.2 percent of the total number included in the list.

The party list of "Ak Zhol" Democratic Party of Kazakhstan Public Association includes 38 people, 14 of which are women and persons under the age of twenty-nine, which is 36.8 percent of the total number included in the list.

Based on the information provided by the authorized bodies, the Central Election Commission checked the persons included in the party lists of the ADAL Political Party and the Ak Zhol Democratic Party of Kazakhstan for election as a deputy of the Mazhilis in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution and the Constitutional Act "On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan".

All persons included in the party lists of "ADAL" Political Party and Ak Zhol Democratic Party of Kazakhstan comply with the requirements of the Constitution and the Constitutional Act "On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan".

In this regard, members of the Central Election Commission adopted two resolutions: "On registration of the list of "ADAL" Political Party Public Association at the elections of deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan" and "On registration of the list of "Ak Zhol" Democratic Party of Kazakhstan Public Association at the elections of deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan".

Serik Sydykov, member of the Central Election Commission, made a report on the third issue of the meeting. In his report, he explained the issues of exercising powers, as well as registration of participants in the electoral process: proxies; observers from political parties, other public associations and non-profit organizations; observers of foreign states and international organizations; representatives of Kazakhstani mass media; representatives of foreign media.

Proxies of candidates, political parties.

Candidates, political parties that nominated party lists have the right to have proxies who help them in the election campaign, conduct election campaigns, represent the interests of candidates, political parties.

A proxy can be a representative, a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan, acting within the powers granted to him/her by a candidate, a political party that has nominated a party list of candidates for deputies. The status of a proxy arises from the moment of his/her registration with the relevant TEC. Proxies lose their status at the end of the election campaign, on personal initiative, by decision of the candidate and the political party that has nominated the party list, as well as in cases of cancellation of the registration of a candidate, party list, violation of the Constitutional Act "On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan".

Political parties that nominated party lists determine proxies at their own discretion in an amount not exceeding three people per polling station in the respective electoral district, and report them for registration to the relevant electoral commission.

The procedure for registering proxies is determined by the CEC Resolution No. 62/108 dated November 21, 2011 “On Approval of the Instruction for Registration of Proxies”.

The proxy shall be a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan and cannot be a member of any election commission, a person holding position of a political civil servant.

On voting day, one proxy from each candidate or political party that nominated a party list is entitled to be present at each polling station in the respective electoral district.

Observers from a political party, other public association, non-profit organization.

An observer shall be a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan who monitors the conduct of voting in the premises (outside the premises) for voting, counting of votes, as well as the decisions and actions (inaction) of the territorial election commission (during elections of deputies of the Senate of Parliament), the precinct election commission.

On voting day, one observer from each political party, other public association, non-profit organization of the Republic of Kazakhstan may be present at each polling station in the respective electoral district.

Observer status arises from the moment of his/her registration at the corresponding PEC, by entering data about him/her in the register. The observer loses his/her status upon completion of the transfer of the protocol of vote count at the precinct to the higher commission (district, city), as well as in case of violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. An observer acquires his/her status and has the corresponding rights and obligations only upon submission of all the required documents and all procedural decisions by the election commissions.

The document of the legal entity that seconded an individual to observe elections shall be signed by an authorized person, whose powers are confirmed by the constituent documents of the organization, administrative documents of the head of the organization on delegation of authority, or powers of attorney to perform certain actions on behalf of the organization. This document is certified by seal of organization that seconded the observer and is valid upon presentation of an identity document of the observer. A document issued by a legal entity must clearly outline the boundaries of the powers granted to an individual (to observe which elections a person is authorized to; an indication of polling station and name of the election commission where it is seconded), information about this person (last name, first name and patronymic), and also contain a record of the absence of restrictions that impede the exercise of powers.

The legal capacity of a legal entity as a subject of an observer's referral must be confirmed by establishing the fact of its registration. The document confirming the state registration (re-registration) of a legal entity is a certificate in the form established by the Ministry of Justice. Along with the confirmation of the state registration of a legal entity, the fact of its current status, i.e. absence of suspension of activities, absence of initiation of liquidation procedures.

At the same time, activities of the entity seconding persons to observe elections shall comply with the goals of its creation, since the Civil Code provides the rules on obligatory indication of the subject and purpose in their constituent documents. Consequently, organizations can second persons to observe elections, provided that this is consistent with their statutory goals regarding implementation and protection of the political rights and freedoms of citizens.

The powers to participate in the electoral process, to observe at polling stations and, in general, to carry out activities in the sphere of exercising the political rights of citizens must be confirmed by an extract from the organization's charter.

According to the Constitutional Act, foreigners, stateless persons, foreign legal entities and international organizations are prohibited from carrying out activities that impede and (or) facilitate nomination and election of candidates, political parties that have nominated a party list, and the achievement of a certain election result. Thus, observers from political parties, other public associations, non-commercial organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan must be citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

As part of his report, Serik Sydykov also dwelled on peculiarities of the rights of observers to take photos, audio and video recordings on election day.

The Constitutional Act "On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan" grants national observers the right to make photo, audio and video recordings without interfering with the course of voting and summing up its results.

At the same time, exercise of this right cannot infringe on human rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as on the principle of keeping the secrecy of the vote, enshrined in the Constitutional Act "On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan".

Accordingly, photo, audio and video recording, as well as observation itself, shall be carried out in such a way that confidentiality of personal data, including the list of voters, filled ballots, etc. is maintained. Thus, implementation of photo and video recording shall be carried out only taking into account protection of secrecy of voting and personal data of voters, and the use of images of citizens is possible after obtaining their consent.

At the same time, according to sub-clause 61) of Article 2 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Communication", recording (photo-, audio- and video-) is not a category similar to broadcasting (going live). In this regard, precinct election commission and observers shall take into account that legislation does not allow online video broadcasting from polling stations.

Photo, audio and video recordings made by observers can be used as evidence in civil, criminal and administrative cases.

Observers of foreign states and international organizations.

Observers of foreign states and international organizations are individuals of foreign states and international organizations accredited by the CEC on the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Status of an international observer arises from the moment of accreditation. An international observer loses its status at the end of the election campaign, in case of violation of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan or generally recognized norms of international law, as well as based on an appeal of the relevant foreign state, international organization on the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Accredited observers of foreign states and international organizations are issued a certificate of the standard established by the CEC, which is the basis for their activity during the election campaign. Observers of foreign states and international organizations, representatives of foreign media are not entitled to use their status to carry out activities not related to the observation of elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

An observer of a foreign state, international organization, as well as a representative of a foreign media may be accompanied by one interpreter upon presentation of an identity document of the latter; a representative of a foreign media outlet may observe elections if he has an accreditation certificate issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Mass media representative.

On voting day, from the moment the polling station is opened for voting and until the results of voting are established, when counting votes, by one representative from each media outlet may be present at the same time at the polling station, provided there is a service card and an editorial assignment.

A media representative terminates his/her powers at a polling station in the event of physical absence at the polling station (without warning the commission), violation of electoral legislation, and also on the basis of an application by the owner of the media outlet or editorial staff of the owner of the media outlet.

State bodies, public associations and organizations with which a journalist is accredited are obliged to notify him/her in advance about meetings, negotiations and other events, to provide transcripts, minutes and other documents.

A media representative is obliged to comply with the requirements of the chairman of the election commission to comply with the rules of conduct at the polling station established by the relevant election commission (clause 2 of Article 39 of the Constitutional Act)

Representative of a foreign media.

The legal capacity of a representative of a foreign media begins from the moment of his/her accreditation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. As of December 2, 2020, 166 representatives of 39 foreign media were accredited at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan on a permanent basis.

A representative of a foreign media outlet loses his/her status at the end of election campaign, as well as in the event of a decision to early terminate accreditation of a foreign media journalist.

The Constitutional Act "On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan" does not directly provide registration or accreditation of a representative of a foreign media outlet at PECs. At the same time, a media representative shall have an identity document and accreditation.

Foreign media representatives have the same rights and responsibilities as international observers.

Based on the results of the third issue, members of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan adopted a resolution "On issues of exercising the powers of certain categories of participants in the electoral process for the election of deputies to the Mazhilis of Parliament and Maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan."

After the meeting, a briefing for the media was held, at which members of the CEC answered questions from the media.

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Press service

Central Election Commission

of the Republic of Kazakhstan

tel. 75-21-03, 75-23-69

a.khusainova@election.gov.kz

v.zheksembekova@election.gov.kz

https://t.me/electionelection