Meeting of the Central Election Commission on the results of the 

registration of candidates for the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the 

conduct of pre-election campaigning and pre-election debates

On October 21, 2022, a meeting of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held under the chairmanship of Nurlan Abdirov. The meeting was attended by representatives of state bodies, political parties, non-governmental organisations, the media, as well as members of territorial election commissions in the videoconferencing mode. 

Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission Konstantin Petrov delivered a report on the first item on the agenda. He said that on October 21, 2022, at 18.00 the stage of registration of candidates for the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan ended. 

The following candidates were registered in the period established by the Calendar Plan: 

1. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, 

2. Meiram Kazhyken, 

3. Zhiguli Dairabayev, 

4. Karakat Abden, 

5. Saltanat Tursynbekova, 

6. Nurlan Auesbayev. 

Thus, the Central Election Commission registered 6 candidates for the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 2 women and 4 men; 1 civil servant, 1 representative of the commercial sector, 4 representatives of the non-governmental sector, including 1 representative of a political party. 

Anastassiya Schegortsova, a member of the Central Election Commission, made a report on the second item on the agenda. She said that the election campaign starts on October 21, 2022 after 18:00 and will last until 00:00 on November 19, 2022. 

Election campaigning shall be carried out in three ways: 

1) through the media; 

2) by holding public pre-election events; 

3) by issuing and distributing printed, audiovisual and other campaign materials. 

Campaigning through the media. 

In order to place campaign materials, the mass media had to publish by October 16 and also submit to the Central Election Commission information on the amount of payment, conditions and procedure for providing airtime and print space. 

At present, the Central Election Commission has received 320 information messages from the media, all messages are posted on the CEC website. The publication of campaign materials in the republican and regional mass media that have not submitted their price proposals shall be prohibited.
From the start of the campaign, all information promoting the goals and objectives of the candidates, with the exception of news and analytical programmes, shall be paid from the election fund of the candidates. 

In accordance with the Constitutional Act “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan,” the terms of the agreement shall not create advantages for any candidate. 

The mass media shall provide objective coverage of the election campaign of candidates, to refrain from publishing campaign materials and other information that deliberately discredits the honour, dignity and business reputation of the candidate. 

The editorial board of the mass media shall refuse to publish the election programmes of candidates if they contain: ideas of violent change in the constitutional order, violation of the integrity of the Republic, undermining the security of the state, inciting social, racial, hatred, a cult of cruelty and violence, as well as the creation of paramilitary formations not provided for by law. 

The second way of campaigning is by holding public pre-election events, as well as personal meetings of candidates and their proxies with voters. 

According to the electoral legislation, the election commissions, together with the LEAs and local self-government authorities, shall draw up a schedule of meetings of candidates with voters in a designated room and publish it in the media. 

The third way of campaigning is through the production and distribution of printed, audiovisual and other campaign materials. 

In accordance with the Constitutional Act “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan,” all campaign printed materials shall be marked. It is prohibited to produce campaign printed materials outside the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to distribute anonymous campaign materials. 

As part of her report, A. Schegortsova focused on conducting public opinion polls. Thus, public opinion polls and exit polls can be conducted by legal entities that have at least five years of experience in conducting public opinion polls. They shall notify the Central Election Commission in writing, attaching copies of the relevant documents. 

When publishing the results of public opinion polls related to elections, the media shall indicate the legal entity that conducted the poll, the persons who ordered the poll and paid for it, the time of the poll, the method of collecting information, the exact wording of the question, the number of respondents and the coefficient of error of the poll results. 

To date, 3 legal entities that have submitted notifications of a public opinion poll have documents that comply with the requirements of the Constitutional Act. 

The law on elections prohibits the conduct of election campaigning: by state bodies, military personnel, members of election commissions, religious associations, foreigners. 

Improper election campaigning is the provision to voters free of charge or on preferential terms of goods, any services, securities, as well as holding lotteries, charity events, paying money or promising to provide it. Improper election campaigning is prohibited. On election day and the day preceding it, any election campaigning is prohibited. 

At the end of her speech, A. Schegortsova emphasised that legal liability is provided for violating the terms, procedure and conditions of the election campaign, and in relation to candidates up to the cancellation of registration. 

Representatives of the authorised state bodies – the Ministry of Information and Social Development, as well as the Prosecutor General’s Office – also spoke on the issue. 

Thus, Vice-Minister of Information and Social Development Daniyar Kadirov reported on how the information space will be monitored to ensure compliance with the conditions for conducting pre-election campaigning in the media. Deputy Prosecutor General Zhandos Umiraliyev informed the participants of the meeting about the responsibility for violating the conditions of the election campaign. 

Anastasia Shchegortsova, a member of the Central Election Commission, made a report on the third item on the agenda. She said that in accordance with the Constitutional Act “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan,” the Central Election Commission organises pre-election debates of presidential candidates, determines the procedure and conditions for their conduct. 

By the resolution of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the date of the pre-election television debates and discussions was approved – November 11 this year. Debates and discussions will be aired on Khabar TV channel. 

Secretary of the Central Election Commission Mukhtar Yerman made a report on the fourth item on the agenda. He said that today 76 international observers from 4 international organisations and 3 foreign states are accredited. Accreditation of observers of foreign states and international organisations will be carried out until 18:00 on November 14, 2022. As applications for accreditation are received, data on observers will be updated