Nurlan Abdirov checked the readiness for elections in the southern 

regions of the republic

Chairman of the Central Election Commission Nurlan Abdirov continued inspection trips to the regions within the preparation and conduct of elections to the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

On March 9, in the Kyzylorda region, the Head of the Central Election Commission held a multilateral workshop-meeting with the participation of members of the territorial election commission and heads of state bodies.

Secretary of the Central Election Commission Mukhtar Yerman and senior officials of the CEC administration also took part in the working trip.

The event was attended by heads of law enforcement agencies, heads of sectoral units and departments, members of the territorial election commission, representatives of the campaign headquarters of candidates, representatives of the OSCE/ODIHR long-term election observation mission Veronika Kuralt (Slovenia) and Roman David Magri (Switzerland), as well as media representatives.

In his opening speech, Nurlan Abdirov, noting the importance of the current election campaign, dwelled in detail on the novelties of the electoral legislation and the main results of the stages of nomination and registration of candidates in single-seat territorial constituencies and from political parties.

Representatives of the leadership of the regional akimat, the prosecutor’s office, the police, the department of employment and social programmes and the chairman of the territorial election commission reported on the ongoing work on holding elections.

Nurlan Abdirov drew special attention of members of the commissions to the obligatory knowledge of the rules of conduct at polling stations on voting day and stressed that all participants of the electoral process, including observers, proxies of candidates and the media, must be familiarised with the content of these rules from the moment they arrive in voting premise.

During the meeting, Shakhmardan Baimanov, head of the administration of the regional akim, noted that 486,002 citizens were included in the voter list in the region.

He also said that 20,324 voters with disabilities live in the region. All the required conditions have been created for them. Thus, out of 373 polling stations, 368 are included in the republican interactive map of accessibility.

466 places for billboards, 268 places for printed materials and 169 rooms for their meetings with voters were allocated for placement of campaign materials of candidates in the region.

Work to provide advisory assistance and inform voters is underway.

To clarify the polling station of citizens, in addition to call centres, the Check Yourself in the Voter Lists service (saylau.orda.gov.kz) was launched, where voters can find out the location of their polling station by entering their IIN.

In addition, it is possible to check oneself in the voter lists through the telegram bot and the Smart Qyzylorda mobile application.

To install an online service for checking information on the place of registration of citizens on the voting day, 169 polling stations were identified on the egov portal.

In order to exercise the suffrage of citizens without registration, in Kyzylorda, at 5 polling stations, citizens will be able to vote by receiving temporary registration at the address of the polling station. Employees of public service centres will work at these polling stations, and an interactive board will also be available, with the help of which voters will be able to receive services on their own.

Polling stations are fully provided with the necessary technical base (additional computer, uninterrupted Internet network, printer, webcam, etc.).

The head of the regional department of employment and social programs, Gabit Zhanabayev, added that on the day of elections, people with disabilities will be served by 34 taxis and 42 sign language interpreters.

Deputy regional prosecutor Nurbolat Duissenbayev and first deputy head of the regional police department Shamshidin Amitov spoke at the meeting on issues of oversight of compliance with the rule of law during the election campaign, as well as ensuring law and order and public security on voting day.

At the end of the meeting, the CEC chairman called on all participants of the electoral process in the region to make every effort to hold the upcoming elections in strict accordance with the requirements of the law.

In the second part of the workshop-meeting, Voting Day business game was organised, during which the algorithm of the work of election commissions directly on the election day was modelled.

The business game was attended by students of the Korkyt-ata University, studying jurisprudence. Members of election commissions showed the features of the electoral process and the voting procedure. It is noteworthy that university students were involved in the practical workshop, because this will allow forming an electoral culture among young people.

Further, the CEC Chairman met with members of the territorial election commission. During the trip, he answered numerous questions and gave a number of instructions.

At the end of the trip, Nurlan Abdirov got acquainted with the work of polling station No. 207, located in Kyzylorda.

Here, the chairman was presented with the Check yourself in the voter list service and the capabilities of the saylau.orda.gov.kz platform were demonstrated.

On March 10, Nurlan Abdirov visited the Turkestan region, where he also got acquainted with the work of election commissions and inspected the readiness of polling stations for voting day.

The meeting chaired by Nurlan Abdirov was attended by members of territorial election commissions, government officials, representatives of the campaign headquarters of candidates, the media, as well as representatives of the long-term OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Yustina Rudminaite (Lithuania), Valeri Amisulashvili (Georgia) and the Voice Coalition of Public Observers Republican Public Association.

Deputy akim of the region Beissenbai Tazhibayev informed that 1 million 176 thousand 658 voters were included in the voter lists in the region. There are 941 polling stations.

To inform the population, there is “109” single call-centre and 17 call-centres in akimats of cities and districts.

In order to increase the electoral activity of the population in the region, 1575 banners were placed. Also, in places with a high concentration of the population (public service centres, youth resource centres, bus stations, shopping centres, markets, cultural centres, etc.), informational videos are regularly broadcast.

646 places have been identified for placement of campaign printed materials of candidates and 330 rooms for meetings of candidates with voters.

He also said that 97,600 citizens with disabilities live in the region, 20,122 of which need special conditions on election day, including 3,099 people who use wheelchairs, 2,664 with complete loss of vision, 2,316 with complete loss of hearing and speech. To date, all polling stations in the region are adapted to receive people with disabilities. On election day, 43 private taxis and 50 social taxis will operate in the region. In addition, it is planned to organise the services of 114 sign language specialists. All polling stations are provided with one permanent and 2 mobile ballot boxes.

Nurlan Abdirov stressed that ensuring the electoral rights of citizens with disabilities is a very important issue. For them, special corners should be provided at polling stations, equipped with additional lighting, special equipment and technical capabilities, as well as special booths, tactile signs and ramps.

During the meeting, the work carried out in terms of compliance with the law and ensuring law and order and public safety was reported by acting regional prosecutor Sayan Keldibekov and first deputy head of the police department Baglanbek Aitpayev.

In the second part of the workshop for members of territorial and precinct election commissions, a training was organised in the form of Voting Day business game, during which the participants practiced the algorithm of actions directly on the election day.

Then the CEC Chairman visited some polling stations and personally checked their readiness for the voting day. He got acquainted with the work of the district election commission No. 25, and also examined the polling station No. 900 in Turkestan.

Here, the Head of the Central Election Commission paid special attention to the convenience of the location of the tables of commission members and places for observers from public associations in the voting premises. At polling station No. 900, he made a number of comments and gave specific recommendations to the members of the commission to ensure the necessary review for representatives of national and international observers, the media during the voting and the vote count procedure.

On March 11, Nurlan Abdirov visited Shymkent, where he also held a meeting on the organisation and conduct of elections with officials from the akimat, members of city, district territorial election commissions, chairpersons of district and precinct election commissions of the city, representatives of the long-term OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission, political parties, the city prosecutor’s office, the police department, the departments of internal policy and the coordination of employment and social programmes, as well as the media.

Gabit Maulenkulov, head of the Shymkent city akim’s office, informed that the number of voters in the city is 639,663 people, 330 polling stations are open for them. All of them are fully equipped.

In order to inform the population, a Call-centre operates in the city, and relevant information is posted on the official website of the akimat. At the same time, for citizens to search for themselves in the voter lists on the i-shymkent.kz resource, a special service is functioning, and Telegram-bot has been launched. Also, the 2GIS application provides the Polling station search service, where the voter can find his/her polling station and the shortest path to it.

Gabit Maulenkulov also said that free public transport would be organised in Shymkent on election day.

Balmarzhan Narbekova, Head of the Employment Coordination and Social Programs Department, informed about the work to ensure the electoral rights of citizens with disabilities. She said that 6,254 voters with disabilities live in the city and need special conditions for voting. 1,263 citizens of them use wheelchairs, 3,572 with vision loss, 1,419 with hearing and speech loss.

Nurlan Abdirov instructed to pay special attention to citizens with 1 and 2 categories of disability. He recommended meeting or calling each such voter and inviting them to the elections, if necessary, handing out invitations addressed to them. The Head of the CEC also noted that on election day it is necessary to ensure the quality work of the Invataxi service and sign language interpreters.

During the meeting, the prosecutor of the city Gabit Mukanov spoke about the work to ensure supervision over the observance of the rule of law.

The CEC chairman drew attention of the head of the city’s supervisory authority to work with citizens’ appeals. In particular, he stressed that there are only a few days left before the elections, so it is important to promptly respond to complaints from the population regarding the election campaign and quickly take the necessary measures on them.

Head of the city police department Kairat Dalbekov informed the meeting participants about the measures to ensure law and order and public safety on the election day.

Addressing the head of the Police Department, the CEC Chairman emphasised the inadmissibility of the presence of police officers at the polling stations on voting day if unnecessary, and also instructed to ensure the safety of ballots.

After the meeting, Nurlan Abdirov and employees of the CEC administration conducted a training session at polling station No. 106 for members of election commissions in the format of a business game, during which, as in all regions, members of election commissions received practical knowledge on how to organise work at polling stations on voting day.

Then the Head of the Central Election Commission visited several polling stations, where he met with members of the commissions and checked the progress of preparations for the upcoming elections, answering their questions.

Nurlan Abdirov drew attention of members of commissions of all levels to the competent preparation of documents (minutes of meetings, decisions, protocols of voting results, acts, registers, etc.)

He also stressed that it is important to be very attentive when issuing ballots to voters, including verifying the identity of citizens’ signatures in the journal of voter lists and in their identity cards.

At the end of the meeting, the CEC Chairman recommended that members of election commissions pay even more attention to organising the effective work of election commissions, as well as creating the necessary conditions for all participants of the electoral process.

The upcoming elections of members to the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of all levels should be held in strict accordance with the requirements of the law, openly and transparently, the head of the Central Election Commission emphasised.