Draft Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan Presented at the 

OSCE/ODIHR Headquarters 

At the invitation of OSCE/ODIHR Director Maria Telalian, Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Yerman is taking part in the Meeting of Focal Points for Election Observation. This high-level forum, held at the OSCE/ODIHR headquarters in Warsaw, brought together representatives from 33 European countries, as well as the United States and Canada. Delegations include representatives of central election authorities, foreign affairs agencies, the expert community, and civil society.

The agenda issues related to the formation of election observation missions, their training, the organization of their work, and cooperation with official authorities.

As part of the visit programme, Mukhtar Yerman met with Maria Telalian, Director of OSCE/ODIHR. During the constructive dialogue, the Deputy Chairman of the CEC RK presented up-to-date information on the large-scale work underway in the country in the context of the constitutional reform initiated by the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The key aspects of the political transformation were outlined. Particular emphasis was placed on the forthcoming changes in representative bodies of power, the establishment of a unicameral Kurultai and the election of its deputies through party lists, the introduction of the post of Vice President, and the formation of the People’s Council of Kazakhstan vested with the right of legislative initiative. Ms. Telalian expressed her appreciation for the important information and noted ODIHR’s readiness to discuss the deployment of an OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission to the upcoming nationwide referendum.

The content of the draft Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, presented in the form of English-language materials and infographics, was also shared with the meeting participants. Representatives of several delegations expressed interest in taking part in various international election observation missions.

Mukhtar Yerman emphasized that the CEC RK is gaining experience through participation in both long-term (the United States elections) and short-term (Azerbaijan, Moldova) OSCE/ODIHR election observation missions.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Maria Telalian was presented with an English-language book on electoral matters, published under the auspices of the CEC RK.

As part of the visit programme in Warsaw, Mukhtar Yerman met with the Head of the National Electoral Office of the Republic of Poland Raweł Tkacz. The interlocutors exchanged information on the current activities of their electoral authorities, discussed prospects for cooperation, and noted the similarity of a number of priorities, including increasing youth engagement and providing systematic training for members of election commissions. The discussion also addressed the use of digital technologies in elections. The Polish colleagues emphasized that the key issue is ensuring robust cybersecurity and protecting voters’ personal data, and they pointed to growing trends in the illegal dissemination of deepfakes.

To date, Poland continues to use paper ballots and manual vote counting.

The Deputy Chairman of the CEC RK briefed the leadership of the National Electoral Office on the main outlines of the upcoming constitutional reform in Kazakhstan and extended a preliminary invitation verbally to observe the anticipated referendum.

The parties agreed to continue their professional contacts.