Members of the CEC continue a series of field workshop-meetings in the 

regions of the country on the preparation and conduct of elections of the 

President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

As part of organising and holding early elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, members of the CEC of the Republic of Kazakhstan continue a series of field workshop-meetings in the regions of the country. 

On November 13-14 this year Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurlan Abdirov and CEC member Shavkhat Utemissov visited the territorial and precinct election commissions of the Mangistau region on an inspection trip. 

In particular, they visited the polling stations of the cities of Aktau, Zhanaozen, as well as the villages of Kyzylsai, Kenderli of the Mangistau region and held meetings with members of territorial and precinct election commissions and representatives of local executive bodies. 

At a meeting chaired by Nurlan Abdirov, authorised state bodies and the regional territorial election commission reported on the work carried out in the region on voter lists, organisational, logistical support for the elections, the creation of the necessary conditions for the physical accessibility of polling stations for citizens with disabilities, the timely delivery of ballots and etc. 

Yelubay Abilov, chairman of the TEC of the Mangistau region, reported on the work of the region’s election commissions during the election campaign, and Ulugbek Tinaliyev, deputy akim of the region, reported on the organisational, material and technical support of the elections. They informed that 243 precinct and 8 territorial election commissions were involved in the election campaign in the region, in total – 1,765 people. 

From October 10 to October 30 this year, on the basis of the regional branch of the Academy of Public Administration at the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, all members of election commissions were trained and received certificates under the program “Organisation and conduct of early elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, scheduled for November 20, 2022.” 

The number of persons with disabilities eligible to vote is 7,906. All stations of the region are equipped with ballot boxes, appropriate booths, necessary office equipment, tactile indicators (ramps, separate booths, voting area, Braille stencils, etc.). On the voting day, 15 “invataxi” services will be organised. 

Call centre services operate in all akimats of cities and districts. On voting day, a service will be organised at each polling station to identify polling stations of persons not included in the list of this polling station. The work of mobile public service centres will be organised at 5 polling stations as well. 

As part of the information support of the election campaign, more than 5,000 infographic materials have been placed in public places, videos on absentee ballots, voting abroad, voting procedures, etc. are broadcast on regional television. 112 billboards, banners and LED screens have been placed throughout the region. In order to inform citizens, together with the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, SMS are sent through the networks of mobile operators, as well as PUSH notifications through mobile applications of banks. 

As part of the trip, Nurlan Abdirov checked the readiness of polling stations in the Mangistau region for the voting day. He also checked the convenience and accessibility of sites for persons with disabilities, specifying at each site which categories of citizens with disabilities are included in the list of this site, as well as the availability of appropriate equipment at the site for these persons. 

Checking the readiness of the polling stations for the voting day, Nurlan Abdirov once again stressed the need to arrange the ballot boxes in such a way that proxies and observers, representatives of the media and other participants in the electoral process could freely observe the voting process. 

In the second part of the program, training was conducted in the form of a business game based on case technology for territorial and precinct election commissions. At the polling station No. 224 of the Munaily district, a new method of consolidating the knowledge gained during the business game was tested. The method itself is characterised by the collective participation of all members of the election commissions, as well as interactivity. The Central Election Commission plans to generalise the practice of conducting business games using this method, developed by the TEC of the Munaily district, to finalise and recommend it for use by election commissions of all levels in the process of electoral education. 

Following the meetings, Nurlan Abdirov gave a number of specific instructions to the chairmen of the territorial and precinct election commissions. 

Deputy Chairman of the CEC Konstantin Petrov, Secretary of the CEC Mukhtar Yerman and member of the CEC Sabila Mustafina on November 9-15 held workshop-meetings in Pavlodar, Kyzylorda, Almaty and Aktobe regions, as well as in the cities of Almaty and Astana. 

In the first part of the workshop-meetings, members of the CEC heard reports from authorised state bodies and members of election commissions on the work carried out in the regions to organise the election of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 

So, the head of akim’s office of Pavlodar region D. Ibrayev reported that 510,847 citizens were included in the voter lists in the region. In total, there are 528 polling stations in the region, 21 of which have limited access. According to the akimats of cities and districts, voting premises at all polling stations are equipped in accordance with the Instructions of the CEC. 

For the convenience of clarifying the polling station, there are services for searching information about the polling station through the search service by IIN on the telegram bot. Call-centres work in all 13 akimats. There is also a call centre for voters based on the Unified Contact Center 109. 

Head of the Department for the Coordination of Employment and Social Programs of the Pavlodar Region A. Dissyupova said that in total there are more than 3.3 thousand voters with disabilities in the region who need special conditions for voting. In this regard, all necessary measures are being taken in the region to create conditions for unhindered access to polling stations for citizens with disabilities. On the voting day, the services of 18 invataxis will be available. To exercise the electoral rights of persons with disabilities who are not able to visit polling stations, field commissions with a portable ballot box will be organised. 

In turn, the head of akim’s office of the Kyzylorda region S. Baimanov reported that 2,710 commission members work in the region. The total number of voters included in the voter list in the Kyzylorda region is 482,934 people. 

In order to clarify their polling station, citizens have the opportunity to call the Call Centre and use the service to check themselves in the voter lists saylau.orda.gov.kz. It is possible to check voter lists through the telegram bot and the Smart Qyzylorda mobile application. To date, more than 12,000 requests have been received. 

The regional election commission organised training courses for 800 members of election commissions in all districts and Kyzylorda. 

In the Kyzylorda region, more than 31 thousand people with disabilities are registered today, 20,071 of which have the right to participate in elections. At all polling stations, conditions have been created for voting by persons with disabilities. The monitoring group established in the districts and Kyzylorda is constantly working to study the complete adaptation of objects. 32 invataxi services will operate during the elections to transport people with disabilities.  

In the Almaty region, 606 polling stations will operate on voting day, 21 of them with limited access. 

In total, 42,171 persons with disabilities are registered in the region. Premises of 606 polling stations for voting are located on the first floors of buildings. Handrails have been installed at the entrance to the voting premises in 572 polling stations, tactile signs are available at 390 polling stations. In addition, corners and booths for persons with disabilities have been organised in 585 polling stations. 

Also, on the day of voting in all districts and cities of the region, 18 invataxi vehicles will be used to deliver voters to polling stations. 

According to the report of the head of akim’s office of the Aktobe region K.Raimkulov, there are 560,819 voters in the Aktobe region. Today, all sites are provided with the necessary material and technical equipment. The work of 14 Call-centres has been organised, for the convenience of citizens, there is a telegram bot, where over 159 thousand voters have checked themselves to date. 

According to the Deputy Chief of Staff of Almaty K.Sukhambekov, on election day 600 polling stations will operate in the city. More than 1 million 170 thousand people are included in the voter lists, a city call centre with a single number “1315” has been launched. On the website of the public reception of the akimat of Almaty Open Almaty, a service has been developed that allows to check oneself in the voter lists. A similar service has been launched via Telegram bot. To date, more than 70,000 people have already checked themselves in the voter lists. 

There are more than 43,000 people with disabilities who have the right to vote in Almaty, and 6,209 people need special conditions for voting. Access for persons with disabilities is provided at all polling stations. All polling stations are located on the first floors, there are ramps and tactile signs. Special booths for secret voting, as well as computers with a monitor, where the necessary information is placed in an adapted format for citizens with disabilities, are provided at polling stations. 54 invataxis will be involved on the voting day. 

According to the report of deputy akim of Astana Y.Baiken, there are 407 polling stations in the capital. The stations are 100% equipped with material and technical means (stands, signs, ballot boxes, booths, internet connection, etc.). 

In order to inform the population, since October 10, the “Find your polling station” service system, the “iKomek109” single contact centre, and Telegram chat bots have been operating on the official website of the akimat. As of November 10, more than 490 thousand people checked themselves in the service departments. 

In all regions, videos on informing citizens about the elections are shown on a regular basis, including on TV channels, radio, Internet resources, print media and in public places. 

In the second part of the program of workshop-meetings, CEC members conducted trainings in the form of a business game based on case technology for territorial and precinct election commissions. 

Thus, the practical skills of members of election commissions were tested on the algorithm of actions on voting day, including preparing a polling station for voting day, issuing ballots, accompanying ballot boxes for voting outside the premises, the algorithm for counting votes, drawing up protocols on the results of voting, etc. Other CEC members asked clarifying questions about the algorithm of actions of members of election commissions and reminded them that the main task in organising the voting procedure is to ensure its transparency. 

After the workshops, CEC members visited polling stations in the regions. The election commissions received methodological and advisory assistance from members of the CEC.