On April 4-5, 2022, a working trip of the Chairman of the Central Election Commission Nurlan Abdirov took place to the Kostanay region

The next working trip of the Chairman of the Central Election Commission Nurlan Abdirov took place in the Kostanay region.

On April 4 this year Nurlan Abdirov met with akim elected on July 25, 2021 and residents of the Sadchikovsky rural district of the Kostanay region.

During the meeting the villagers spoke about the previous elections. In their opinion, the introduction of the institution of direct election strengthened the accountability of the rural akim to the population, and also increased efficiency in solving problematic issues in the village.

The villagers proposed to remove restrictions on rural akims to be elected more than twice in a row. They believe that if current akims are able to work effectively, enjoy authority and respect among their constituents then it is necessary to give them the opportunity to be elected in the future.

An exchange of views also took place on the issue of introducing a system of election of akims of regions. According to the villagers, this should be carried out in stages, since the society needs time and electoral experience in electing akims of all levels.

In addition, a position was expressed regarding the holding of debates in the elections of akims. Kostanay residents note that debates will ensure openness and competitiveness of the electoral process, as well as allow the electorate to get to know the candidates better. At the same time, they emphasized that a “good speaker” cannot always be a “good akim”. Therefore, along with the activity shown by the candidates in the debates, work experience, professional skills and education also play an important role.

The meeting of the Chairman of the CEC with representatives of political parties, NGOs, the media, deputies of maslikhats, public opinion leaders, bloggers, members of the regional election commissions was held in the Kostanay Regional Philharmonic Society. The event was attended by 393 people.

An interesting discussion of the Address of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the people of Kazakhstan regarding the modernization of the electoral process took place.

The head of the Central Election Commission briefed the meeting participants on the upcoming reforms in the electoral system in a dialogue format.

The deputy of the regional maslikhat from the Ak Zhol Democratic Party Dastan Zhumabaev put forward a proposal to use video surveillance equipment in the voting premises and make appropriate amendments to the electoral legislation in order to ensure maximum openness and transparency of the procedure for expressing the will of voters.

Former Majilisman from the APK Valery Vishnichenko actively supported the initiative of the Head of State regarding the transfer of the APK quota to the Senate. At the same time, he proposed introducing a three-year rotation mechanism, which would allow different ethnic groups to be represented in the Senate.

Chairman of the branch of the People's Party of Kazakhstan Andrey Koval raised the main issue of electoral education for political parties by the electoral authorities.

Rimma Bekturganova, head of the Club of Women Politicians, stressed the timeliness of the current amendments to the electoral legislation which include at least a 30% quota for women, youth and persons with disabilities in party lists in the Mazhilis. In addition, she noted that in reality it is necessary to nominate more women for elected positions, as well as for the positions of akims of various levels.

Health care veteran Kupey Malchubayeva supported introduction of the institution of self-nomination in elections to representative authorities and noted that this would support active representatives of society who would make a great contribution to the political development of our country.

In addition, during a meaningful discussion, issues of legal regulation of the activities of national observers, the formation and work of election commissions, expanding the opportunities for youth participation in election processes, as well as the prospects for the use of electronic voting were considered.

The next important point of Nurlan Abdirov's visit program was a meeting with young voters of the region.

The meeting discussed current and future trends, especially those related to the role and place of Kazakhstani youth in the further political transformation of society. It was also noted about creating favorable conditions for young people, first of all, the opportunity to be a participant in the Presidential Youth Personnel Reserve.

Representatives of numerous universities and colleges, youth NGOs expressed their views on increasing the electoral activity of young people.

The issue of introducing electronic voting technologies is always of interest to the youth audience. At the same time, one of the activists, Nauryzbek Birmagambetov, drew attention to the expediency of introducing electronic voting at first in a pilot mode at several polling stations. The need to offer the voter a choice of traditional and electronic methods of voting was also emphasized.

The audience agreed and supported the opinion of the head of the CEC that for a comprehensive and objective study of this issue, first of all, a broad public discussion is necessary.

A distinctive feature of meetings with young people is the conduct of an online survey on a number of key issues of the electoral process. The survey results showed the following: 40% of respondents support the introduction of remote electronic voting using computers, smartphones, tablets; 33.3% voted for mixed electronic voting (stationary, remote); 52.5% of respondents believe that a candidate for the President of the country must know the state language and a linguistic exam is mandatory; 67.8% of the respondents answered that a citizen who had a criminal record cannot be nominated for elected positions of the President, deputy, akim. Also, 50% of respondents answered that a deputy elected on a party list cannot change his party affiliation.

Meetings of the Chairman of the Central Election Commission with the public of the Kostanay region, as in other regions, were broadcast on social networks.

It should be noted that this is the tenth region visited by Nurlan Abdirov. Earlier, similar meetings were held in Akmola, Aktobe, Almaty, Atyrau, Zhambyl, Kyzylorda, Mangystau, Turkestan regions, as well as in Nur-Sultan. The next working trip is planned to the West Kazakhstan region on April 7-8 this year.