On registration of party lists and accreditation of observers of foreign 

states

On February 15, two meetings of the Central Election Commission were held on the issues of registration of party lists of public associations AMANAT Party and Respublica Party and accreditation of observers of foreign states.

The meetings were attended by chairpersons and members of territorial election commissions of the regions, Astana, Almaty and Shymkent (in the videoconference mode), senior officials of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the ministries of justice, internal affairs, finance, as well as representatives of the mentioned political parties, the media and the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission.

The meetings were broadcast on the CEC website and Youtube with sign language translation.

As part of the first meeting, the issue of registering the party list of the AMANAT Party Public Association at the early elections of Mazhilis members to the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, scheduled for March 19, 2023, was considered.

CEC Chairman Nurlan Abdirov, opening the meeting, said that the AMANAT party submitted documents to the Central Election Commission on the nomination of a party list for the election of Mazhilis members to the Parliament on February 8 this year.

Within its competence, the CEC carried out the relevant procedures to determine the compliance of candidates with the requirements of the Constitution and the Constitutional Act on Elections.

Secretary of the Central Election Commission Mukhtar Yerman made a report on this issue.

He informed that the AMANAT party presented a party list consisting of 90 people. 29 of them include women, young people and persons with disabilities, which together make up 32.2 percent of the total number included in this list.

All persons included in the party list comply with the requirements of the Constitution and the Constitutional Act on Elections.

Mukhtar Yerman also noted that in the elections of Mazhilis members to the Parliament on January 10, 2021, the AMANAT party received 71.09 percent of the vote. Therefore, this party is exempt from paying the election fee.

After signing the protocols on determining the conformity of candidates and registering the party list of the party, the CEC members adopted a resolution on registration of the party list of the AMANAT Party Public Association at the early elections of Mazhilis members to the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, scheduled for March 19, 2023.

All registered candidates received appropriate certificates. Now the AMANAT Party has the right to open a special temporary account for the formation of the electoral fund.

As part of the second meeting, the issues of accreditation of observers of foreign states and registration of the party list of the Respublica Party Public Association in the early elections of Mazhilis members to the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, scheduled for March 19, 2023, were considered.

Secretary of the Central Election Commission Mukhtar Yerman made a report on the issue.

He said that since the opening of the Institution of International Observation on January 20, 2023, 72 observers from 6 foreign states and 3 international organisations have been accredited.

Today, 7 observers from 3 foreign countries are nominated for accreditation:

- 2 candidates each from the Central Election Commissions of the Republic of Armenia and Georgia;

- 3 candidates from the French Republic.

Mukhtar Yerman noted that as applications for accreditation are received, data on observers will be updated.

Turning to the second question of the meeting, Nurlan Abdirov said that the Central Election Commission officially received applications from 2 citizens about their exclusion from the party list of the Respublica party of their own free will and noted the need for appropriate decisions by the Central Election Commission.

Member of the Central Election Commission Shavkhat Utemissov made a report on this issue.

He informed that the Respublica party presented a party list of 25 people. Also on February 14, the Central Election Commission received applications from 2 candidates for their exclusion from the party list of this party.

In accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 90 of the Constitutional Act on Elections, on the basis of applications from the citizens, by decisions of the Central Election Commission, they were excluded from the party list of the Respublica Party Public Association.

Given that, there are 23 people on the party list, 8 of them include women, youth and persons with disabilities, which in total is 34.8 percent.

All persons included in the party list comply with the requirements of the Constitution and the Constitutional Act on Elections.

Shavkhat Utemissov drew attention to the fact that the Respublica party did not participate in the previous parliamentary elections. Therefore, in accordance with Article 88 of the Constitutional Act on Elections, a party shall pay an electoral fee to the account of the Central Election Commission in order to register the list. The amount of the contribution is fifteen times the minimum wage for each person included in the party list. The Respublica Party paid the election fee in full.

After signing the protocols on determining the eligibility of candidates and on registering the party list, CEC members adopted a resolution on registration of the party list of the Respublica Party Public Association.

All registered candidates received appropriate certificates. Now the party has the right to open a special temporary account for the formation of the electoral fund.

Thereat, the party lists nominated by seven political parties are registered by the Central Election Commission.

After both meetings, traditional briefings were held, during which representatives of these political parties answered questions from the media.