On April 28-29, 2025, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurlan Abdirov paid a working visit to Pavlodar region, including the city of Pavlodar and Shcherbakty District. He was accompanied by CEC member Lyazzat Suyindik and staff from the Commission’s Secretariat.

During the trip, meetings were held with young voters, members of local maslikhats, and youth organizations at Toraighyrov University, as well as with residents and the akim of Shcherbakty District. The events gathered over 500 participants.

Nurlan Abdirov spoke about the transformation of the electoral system in the context of the Constitutional reform initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, emphasizing that the changes reflect the public's demands. He also highlighted the importance of developing electoral bodies, professionalizing election commissions, enhancing electoral culture, expanding international cooperation and election observation, and ensuring transparency and openness at all stages of the electoral process.

“The transformation of the country's electoral system represents a shift toward a fundamentally new model for forming institutions of power by increasing public participation in governance. In essence, the innovations in the electoral system are based on public demands and proposals,” Abdirov stressed.

Special attention was given to fostering direct dialogue with participants in the electoral process. Since 2022, the Chairman has held 143 meetings nationwide, attended by over 18 000 citizens.

On the first day of the trip, participants took part in an interactive session, where they actively posed questions on electoral system development, digitalization of elections, and global trends.

For instance, Aisha Talassova, a second-year student and member of the Young Voters’ Club, proposed creating a youth portal for sharing electoral news and exchanging opinions. Askhat Yesimov, a student, inquired about global trends in electoral matters. Aituar Savridenov asked about the prospects of digitalizing elections. Nikita Solopov, a future lawyer, was interested in the Chairman’s stance on multi-day voting. Ruslan Sheremetyev, an 11th-grade student at Baitursynov Secondary School, asked what steps a young person should take to build a political career.

More than 300 young participants in Pavlodar and Shcherbakty took part in online surveys on electoral topics. The results included:

• 72.7% support the requirement for public service experience for presidential candidates;

• 40.4% prefer voting using paper ballots;

• 36.3% believe that citizens declared legally incompetent by a court should not be allowed to vote;

• 41.3% think convicted individuals serving sentences should not have voting rights;

• 51.6% learn about elections or referenda via social media.

The CEC Chairman noted that the surveys have practical significance, and their findings will be taken into account, including in the strategy for voter information during future campaigns.

As part of the trip, a meeting was held with members of the territorial election commissions, discussing legal compliance and transparency in elections, improvements to the material and technical base of polling stations, and capacity building for commission members. A training seminar on rural akim elections was conducted, including case studies and a test on electoral legislation.

The next day, Nurlan Abdirov visited Shcherbakty District, where he met with rural youth, college students, and local residents to discuss how elections impact their daily lives.

During the meetings, Natalya Mashchenko, a rural librarian, remarked that direct elections of akims have brought the authorities closer to the people. Baktyly Kalybayeva, a member of the District Public Council, said that the district akim regularly visits rural areas to meet with citizens. Vladimir Polyakov, a district maslikhat deputy, noted that transferring the right to elect akims to the people has strengthened trust in government: “When a person votes directly, they place hopes and expect concrete change. In our case, these expectations were met.”

The CEC Chairman reminded participants that since 2021, direct elections of rural akims have been held in Kazakhstan, and today, around 97% of them are elected directly by the people. In 2023, pilot elections for 45 district and city akims were held. According to Abdirov, this has made akims more accountable to the population and more responsive to the people’s interests and demands. “All these changes are part of the reforms proposed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, which aim to increase citizen participation in local-level decision-making,” he stated.

Local residents confirmed that government has become more open - regular meetings are held, akims are available around the clock via messengers and social media, and they respond quickly to public concerns.

At the end of the visit, the most active participants received books on electoral topics, published on the initiative of the Central Election Commission.