Chairman of the CEC of the Republic of Kazakhstan met with a group of 

observers from the IPA CIS

On November 2, 2022, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurlan Abdirov met online with a group of observers from the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member States and Secretary General – Head of the Secretariat of the IPA CIS Council D. Kobitsky. 

The meeting was attended by members of the CEC of the Republic of Kazakhstan Shavkhat Utemissov and Anastassiya Schegortsova, Chairmen of territorial election commissions of Astana Bakhyt Bektemissova and Almaty Zhanna Assanova, as well as Deputy Secretary General of the Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly – Plenipotentiary Representative of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Igor Mussalimov, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the CIS IPA Council – Director of the International Institute for Monitoring the Development of Democracy, Parliamentarism and Observance of the Electoral Rights of Citizens of the IPA CIS Member States Ivan Mushket.  

The Chairman of the CEC of the Republic of Kazakhstan informed the observers from the IPA CIS about the preparations for the election campaign, its main stages, and noted that by now the registration of candidates for the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan has been completed and the election campaign is being carried out by headquarters. 

In turn, Dmitry Kobitsky thanked the Central Election Commission for organising the meeting. Representatives of the IPA CIS asked various questions regarding the preparation and conduct of the election of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including the organisation and conduct of pre-election debates of candidates, the number of voters, the number of absentee certificates issued, the readiness of election commissions for voting day. 

During the meeting, Nurlan Abdirov invited observers from the IPA CIS to participate in meetings and training events of the Central Election Commission, and also expressed his readiness to hold meetings of representatives of the IPA CIS with members and the office of the CEC on issues of interest. 

Representatives of the IPA CIS expressed their interest and readiness to participate online in the work of the Expert Council established under the CEC of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and proposed to work out joint projects to increase the electoral activity of young people. 

At the end of the meeting, the parties wished mutual success in organising and holding elections and their observation. The Chairman also announced that members of the Central Election Commission continue their trips to the regions of the country in order to provide methodological assistance to election commissions and visit polling stations to determine their readiness for voting day. 

Territorial election commissions and local executive bodies inform CEC members about the organisational, logistical support of the elections, ensuring the physical accessibility of polling stations for citizens with disabilities, overseeing compliance with the electoral legislation by participants in the electoral process, ensuring law and order at polling stations on voting day, and protecting and delivery of ballot papers. Based on the results of the trips, CEC members voice proposals to improve the efficiency of the work of territorial and precinct election commissions.