On March 24, 2022 a meeting between the Chairman of the Central Election Commission Nurlan Abdirov and representatives of the civil society of the Mangistau region on the electoral process was held

On March 24, 2022 a large meeting was held in the building of the regional branch of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan between the Chairman of the Central Election Commission Nurlan Abdirov and representatives of political parties, NGOs, media, public opinion leaders, bloggers, members of the election commissions of the Mangistau region. The event was attended by 260 people.

The message of the President to the people of Kazakhstan regarding modernization of the electoral process was one of the important topics for discussion at the meeting. Participants paid special attention to the introduction of majoritarian and proportional electoral systems, electronic voting, and the formation of a unified electronic voter register.

In addition, questions about the need to ensure openness and transparency of the electoral process including activities of territorial and precinct election commissions as well as raising the status of national observers, their rights and powers and equipping polling stations with video surveillance cameras were raised.

Members of the public put forward proposals to improve the infrastructure of polling stations ensuring their physical accessibility and equipment taking into account the needs of voters with disabilities, creating optimal conditions for voting for voters working on a rotational basis in the oil fields of the region.

Also, the participants of the meeting stressed the need to improve the legal literacy and electoral culture of young people, which was supported by the Chairman of the CEC. At the meetings in the regions the Chairman of the CEC noted the interest and involvement of young people in the discussion of the electoral process, and their creative ideas. He also pointed out that our task is to support youth in this, to train and give the right directions.

In addition, members of the public believe that it is important and necessary to discuss with the population all new amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan and electoral legislation before their adoption. The wish was also expressed that such discussions and explanations would be held, first of all, in the state language.

Following the meeting, members of the public expressed their gratitude to the leadership of the Central Election Commission for the initiative to organize an open platform where participants in the electoral process were given the opportunity to express their opinion and put forward a number of specific proposals to improve the electoral process.

On the same day, at the Caspian University of Technology and Engineering named after Sh. Yessenov a meeting of the Chairman with students of the university and college was held during which many topical issues of the electoral process were discussed.

Students showed interest in such issues as ensuring secrecy of voting, openness and public monitoring of the electoral process, the rights and powers of members of election commissions. They asked questions about what exactly it is unacceptable for members of election commissions to do in the course of their activities, which of the citizens cannot participate in elections.

In addition, an explanation was given to young people regarding legislative requirements for candidates for rural akims whether former akims can subsequently participate in the election race where one can get acquainted with the election programs of political parties during the election period.

There was also an active discussion on the introduction of blockchain technologies, electronic voting in future election campaigns. According to some students the use of these modern technologies can ensure the availability of voting for the entire electorate, the efficiency of summarizing its results, and also increase voters' confidence in the institution of elections. At the same time some participants of the meeting expressed the opinion that electronic voting carries risks to ensure the security and integrity of the vote. On the part of the students a proposal was voiced during presidential elections to hold pre-election debates with the obligatory participation of the candidates themselves, and not their proxies.

Following the meeting, Nurlan Abdirov expressed gratitude to the youth for an active and interesting dialogue.

All meetings of the Chairman of the Central Election Commission with public of the Mangistau region, as in other regions were broadcast online on the official page of the Center for Public Communications of the Mangistau Region on the Facebook social network https://fb.watch/bZoi_6Ll48/ as well as on the Facebook page TV channel "Aktau" https://www.facebook.com/groups/NewsAktauMangistau/permalink/3017778775203059/.

It should be noted that before the Mangistau region, similar meetings of the CEC Chairman were held in Kyzylorda, Atyrau, Turkestan, Aktobe, Akmola regions as well as in Nur-Sultan. The next working trip is planned to the Zhambyl region on March 28 this year.