IPA CIS Observers Met With Senators of Republic of Kazakhstan

Today, on 24 December 2020, the IPA CIS international observers with the participation of the Deputy Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council – Plenipotentiary Representative of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askhat Nuskabaj met with members of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan via videoconferencing. The event took place as part of a long-term monitoring of the preparation for the elections to the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan scheduled for 10 January 2021.

Deputy Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat – Director of the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD) Ivan Mushket told the senators about monitoring and the principles of work of the observers. At the moment, the group includes 29 observers, but accreditation continues – it is expected that 47 observers from the IPA CIS will work at the elections in Kazakhstan, representing eight Member Nations.

“We know that the Republic of Kazakhstan attaches great importance to the participation of international observers in the upcoming elections and highly appreciate the efforts to create the necessary conditions for the work of observers”, said Ivan Mushket.

In turn, senator Andrei Lukin commended the IPA CIS for its monitoring activities. “We will be glad to receive representatives of the Assembly, we are open to the whole world, therefore we always invite international observers to analyze the elections to Maslikhats and Mazhilis”, he said.

The participants of the meeting discussed the issues of electronic security, which is especially acute when campaigning on the Internet. “Campaigning in social networks is a very difficult issue, and not only for the Republic of Kazakhstan, but also for any other country in the world”, said Lyazzat Suleimen. She informed the observers that this type of campaigning was regulated by a special resolution of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which clearly defined the parameters by which the material could be considered campaigning.