ODIHR deploys long-term election observation mission to Kazakhstan

ASTANA, 17 July 2007 - The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has opened an election observation mission for the 18 August parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan.

The deployment of the mission follows an invitation from the Government of Kazakhstan to observe the elections to the Majilis, the lower chamber of Parliament. The elections will be conducted under a new electoral system, following amendment of the Constitution and the election law.

The mission, headed by Ambassador Lubomir Kopaj, includes 19 experts based in Astana and Almaty, and 36 long-term observers who will be deployed around the country. The ODIHR will request that a further 400 short-term observers be provided by OSCE participating States to monitor election day activities, including the opening of polling stations, voting, the vote count, and the tabulation of results.

The mission will assess the parliamentary elections for their compliance with principles for democratic electoral processes, including commitments agreed to by all 56 OSCE participating States, as well as with national legislation.

Observers will closely monitor campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant governmental bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, the media environment, the resolution of election-related disputes, and the use of electronic voting machines.

The mission intends to join efforts with the short-term observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA), headed by Consiglio Di Nino, the head of Canada's OSCE PA delegation. The mission will also co-operate with a parliamentary delegation from the Council of Europe.

The OSCE/ODIHR observation mission and the OSCE Centre in Astana operate independently under separate mandates.