OSCE/ODIHR final report on Kazakhstan's early parliamentary elections recommends measures to better comply with fundamental principles for democratic elections

The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on Kazakhstan’s early parliamentary elections on 15 January 2012 concludes that they did not meet OSCE commitments or international standards, and offers a number of recommendations to bring the conduct of elections in line with fundamental principles for democratic elections.

A number of the recommendations in the report, released on 3 April 2012, focus on promoting the competitiveness and pluralism of the electoral process.
 
The report states that despite changes designed to introduce at least a second party into the parliament, the legal framework for the elections remained inconsistent with a number of OSCE commitments. It recommends amendments to the legal framework to unambiguously provide for relevant, reasonable and objective criteria and mechanisms for political party registration.
 
The report also recommends measures be taken to ensure the impartiality and full independence of election commissions from local government authorities.
 
Concerns are raised in the report about self-censorship by the media, resulting from the continued criminalization of defamation, and it suggests amending the civil defamation law to ensure that such cases are settled fairly and proportionately to the offense committed.
 
The report contains an annex documenting significant differences between the results declared at lower levels and those reported at higher levels, and recommends strong political will to improve the integrity of the electoral process by preventing serious violations such as ballot box stuffing and alterations of results protocols.