CIS Observers: Presidential Elections in Kazakhstan Were Open and Transparent

A press conference of the CIS Observer Mission on the results of monitoring the elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held in Astana.

Head of the CIS Observer Mission, Chairman of the Executive Committee Sergey Lebedev spoke about long- and short-term monitoring of the electoral campaign and announced the conclusions reached by the observers.

He noted that the elections had been held in an orderly and calm manner, in accordance with constitutional laws. The campaign was open and transparent. The free expression of will of the citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan was ensured.

IPA CIS Observer Team Coordinator, Deputy Speaker of the Majlisi namoyandagon of the Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan Dilrabo Mansuri said that 67 members from eight CIS parliaments, as well as the staff members of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat and experts from the International Institute for Monitoring the Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD) took part in election monitoring.

On 20 November, international observers visited 121 polling stations in Astana, Almaty, Taldykorgan, Akmola region, as well as in Baku, Yerevan, Minsk, Bishkek, Astrakhan, Kazan, Moscow, Omsk, St. Petersburg, Dushanbe, Tashkent, Rome, Beijing, Istanbul, Seoul, Bucharest, Antalya and Paris.

Based on the results of the monitoring, the Observer Team noted that the electoral legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan provided the necessary conditions for holding democratic elections and respecting the rights of all participants in the electoral process.

Observers believe that the election commissions carried out their activities in accordance with national legislation and international standards for democratic elections. All candidates were provided with equal access to printed and electronic media.

Dilrabo Mansuri said that the IPA CIS international observers came to the conclusion that the early elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan held on 20 November  2022 were held in compliance with the rights and freedoms of all participants in the electoral process, in line with generally recognized democratic principles and norms for organizing and holding free and fair elections, as well as the international commitments of the Republic of Kazakhstan to ensure the rights and freedoms of all participants in the electoral process.

Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy noted that the IPA CIS had been participating in election observation since 1994 and Kazakhstan had been the first country where IPA CIS observers monitored the elections. He noted the good organization of the work of the election commissions and the election process as a whole, and wished Kazakhstan active development and prosperity.