OSCE/ODIHR to observe Kazakh presidential election

ALMATY/WARSAW, 18 October 2005 - The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has deployed an Election Observation Mission to monitor the 4 December presidential election in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

"We will base our assessment of the election on the commitments that all 55 OSCE participating Sates have agreed upon. These commitments apply to all OSCE states equally and we have arrived here with an open mind, ready to assess what I hope will be a democratic election, conducted on a level playing field," said Ambassador Audrey Glover, who is heading the mission.

A core team of 13 international election experts will be based at the mission's offices in Astana and Almaty, with an additional 30 long-term observers deployed throughout the country. The mission, drawn from 19 OSCE participating States, will closely observe and analyse the entire electoral process, including candidate registration and campaigning, the work of the election administration, preparations for electronic voting, the media and the legal framework, as well as the complaints and appeals procedures.

The OSCE/ODIHR has requested 400 short-term observers for election day, who will be joined by a delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The observers will monitor voting, counting, and tabulation of results, including the use of information technology in these important elements in the election process.

On the day after the election, the observation mission will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions. A comprehensive final report will be released about two months after the completion of the electoral process.

The mission and the OSCE Centre in Almaty, headed by Ambassador Ivar Vikki, operate separately under their specific mandates.