According to the meeting agenda, at the first half of the day, the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko met with the Council Members. At the meeting, he underlined the importance of a new international platform, which has becoming a place for effective cooperation on actual issues of organizing and conducting election campaigns. He also emphasized that the main principle to which Belarus has consistently adheres to is that elections at the first place must comply with the national legislation of the country.

At the meeting, the CIS First Deputy Secretary General Leonid Anfimov represented the CIS Executive Committee and the Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the CIS IPA Council, Director of the CIS IPA MIMRD Ivan Mushket represented the Interparliamentary Assembly. 

In the afternoon, the Head of the CEC of Kazakhstan participated in the third meeting of the Advisory Council of Heads of Electoral Bodies of the CIS Member-states. 

Worth to note that this year the chairing of the Advisory Council moved from Uzbekistan to Belarus, and Kazakhstan became a co-chair.

The meeting considered the following issues: the transition of the chairing of the Council from Uzbekistan to Belarus, the appointment of the Head of the Secretariat, and electoral discussion of the Council Members also conducted, where the heads of the electoral bodies of the Commonwealth countries delivered speeches. Further, the discussions held on the modern approaches to the organization of international observation and opportunities for their scaling, methodology of international election observation. The draft of the joint Statement of the Advisory Council was discussed, as well as it was considered the issue of establishing a public youth commission under the Council to which the relevant regulations will be elaborated.

During the electoral discussion, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan emphasized “the electoral bodies of all Commonwealth countries have crossed their thirty-year milestone filled with electoral events. Last December, we сconducted the International Scientific and Practical Conference on “Constitutional Reform and the Electoral System”, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The conference became a productive platform for open dialog and constructive exchange of views, strengthening international cooperation. In general, the Commonwealth countries have accumulated considerable electoral experience over these decades, the legislative base were improved, the new technologies and approaches had been introduced on which we have genuine interest and are thoroughly being studied. We have good traditions of cooperation and useful exchange of experience.

He also informed the meeting participants about the preparations for the republican referendum in Kazakhstan, scheduled for 6 October, emphasizing that the current national referendum has not become a sudden process for the country and it is the continuation of work in the context of the 2022 Constitutional Reform. The legislation on the national referendum was timely and qualitatively updated this summer. The experience of organizing and conducting the 2022 referendum, as well as the recommendations of experts, including international observers have been taken into account.

Commenting on the draft Statement of the Advisory Council of Heads of Election Bodies of the CIS Member-states and the creation of a public youth commission under the Council, the Head of the CEC of Kazakhstan expressed his support for these issues.

Later on, in the interview to the Belarusian media, the Head of the CEC of Kazakhstan stressed that in the discussion of the issues of the meeting the emphasis was placed on trust, openness and transparency of elections and electoral sovereignty of the countries, citing as an example Kazakhstan's electoral legislation, according to which, as it is in all civilized countries external interference in electoral processes is not allowed. He also noted that participation in international observation of such important political events as elections allows you to improve your own competence in the organization of electoral procedures.

In addition, on 19-20 September, in Minsk, it was hosted the International Scientific and Practical Conference “International Standards in the Electoral Process: Experience and Prospects for Development”, where important issues, such as the role of civil society institutions in improving the electoral process and digitalization of the electoral process were discussed. The panel discussion “Electoral Sovereignty: Protection Mechanisms and National Models of Support” was hosted based on the Academy of Public Administration under the aegis of the President of the Republic of Belarus.