On the meeting of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan

On January 20, 2023, the first meeting of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held as part of the ongoing election campaign for the election of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of all levels. Representatives of political parties, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as media representatives attended the meeting in person, while territorial election commissions of regions, Astana, Almaty and Shymkent participated via videoconferencing.

The meeting was broadcast live on the republican TV channels Khabar, Khabar 24, Atameken business. The live broadcast was supplemented by sign language translation.

The following issues were considered at the meeting:

1. On the appointment of elections of maslikhat members of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

2. On approval of calendar plans for the main events for the preparation and holding of elections of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

3. On the establishment of forms of election documents for the election of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

4. On certain issues of the activities of observers of foreign states, international organisations, representatives of foreign media in the early elections of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Opening the meeting, Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurlan Abdirov said that in accordance with the Decrees of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the electoral campaign for the election of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of all levels was launched in accordance with the schedule of election campaigns presented by the President of the country in the September 2022 state-of-the-nation address.

“Consistent holding of presidential elections in November 2022, elections of MPs to representative bodies of all levels are a continuation of the practical implementation of the results of the republican referendum on updating the country’s Constitution, supported by the majority of citizens in the June 2022 referendum. The launch of the entire electoral cycle is due to the need for a radical reboot of our political system and is fully consistent with the logic of the constitutional reform.

Most of these amendments have already been implemented.

Thus, the rules regarding the election of members to the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the Republic, as well as the transition to a mixed electoral system, were put into effect on January 1, 2023.

Elections in single-mandate constituencies to representative bodies at all levels within the mixed electoral system will become an important factor in raising the political culture in the country and a powerful tool for articulating the interests of citizens in the field.

The novelties of the electoral legislation related to the organisation and conduct of elections of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the republic will be considered in detail during the second meeting of the Central Election Commission, which is scheduled for tomorrow.

Thus, the election campaign for early elections of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the republic will be conducted according to the new electoral rules and norms.”

Member of the Central Election Commission Sabila Mustafina made a report on the first issue – On the appointment of elections of maslikhat members of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

She informed that in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated January 19, 2023 No. 105 “On the early termination of the powers of maslikhats of all levels,” the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan was instructed to take measures to appoint, organise the preparation and conduct of early elections of maslikhat members of all levels.

In accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 101 of the Constitutional Act of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan,” early elections of maslikhat members, whose powers were terminated ahead of schedule, were appointed by the Central Election Commission on the basis of the relevant Decree of the President and shall be held no later than two months from the date of early termination of maslikhat powers.

In this regard, it was offered to schedule early elections of maslikhat members for March 19, 2023. This will unify the individual stages of the campaign: nomination, registration, campaigning by setting similar deadlines for holding elections of the Mazhilis members to the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and significantly save budget costs. On this issue, the CEC adopted a corresponding resolution.

Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission Konstantin Petrov made a report on the second issue – On the approval of calendar plans for the main events for the preparation and holding of elections of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

He informed that based on the norms of the current legislation, calendar plans for the main events for the preparation and holding of elections of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan were prepared.

According to the innovations in the electoral legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Mazhilis members to the Parliament shall be elected by a mixed electoral system: 69 MPs – by the system of proportional representation in the territory of a single nationwide constituency, 29 MPs – by single-seat territorial constituencies.

In maslikhats of regions, cities of republican significance and the capital, 50% of all MPs will be elected by the majority system, 50% by party lists;

Elections to maslikhats of districts and cities will be held entirely according to the majority system.

In total, 3415 members of 223 maslikhats are to be elected to the upcoming campaign.

As part of his speech, Konstantin Petrov dwelled on the key points and main stages of the preparation and conduct of the elections.

Thus, a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan who has lived on its territory for the last 10 years, who has reached the age of 25 can be a candidate for the Mazhilis MP.

A citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan who has reached 20 years of age can be a candidate for maslikhat member.

The following persons cannot be candidates for members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and Maslikhat of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

1) a person who has a criminal record that has not been canceled or redeemed in the manner prescribed by law;

2) a person whose guilt in committing a corruption crime and a corruption offense has been recognised by a court in line with the procedure established by law.

The right to nominate candidates for members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats belongs to:

1) elected on party lists – political parties;

2) elected in single-mandate territorial constituencies – political parties, public associations, as well as their structural subdivisions (branches and representative offices) in the event that the relevant authority is provided in the charter, and citizens through self-nomination

In accordance with the calendar plan, the stage of nominating candidates begins on the day the Decree on calling elections is published and ends at 18:00 local time thirty days before the election – from January 20 to February 8 (20 days).

The registration period is from January 20 to February 18.

The pre-election campaign starts from the moment the registration period ends and ends at 00:00 local time on the day preceding the election day – from 18.00 on February 18 to 00.00 on March 18.

Voting at polling stations on election day lasts from 07:00 to 20:00 local time, unless another voting time is established.

The vote count and the preparation of a protocol on the results of voting at the polling station by precinct election commissions begins at 20:00 local time, unless another time for the end of voting is established.

Thus, the total duration of the early elections of members to the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats, from the day of appointment to the voting day will be 59 days. Two decisions of the CEC were adopted on this issue.

Saule Kozubayeva, head of the department for organising the electoral process of the CEC administration, spoke on the third issue of the meeting On the establishment of forms of election documents for the election of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

She informed that in accordance with subparagraph 6) of Article 12 of the Constitutional Act of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan,” the Central Electoral Commission establishes the forms of election documents for the election of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and the election of members of maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The CEC administration prepared 53 forms of election documents for two election campaigns: for the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and maslikhats.

Of these, 12 forms are directly related to the election of Mazhilis members elected by political parties, and 11 are related to the election of Mazhilis members elected by single-mandate territorial constituencies.

For the election of maslikhat members of the Republic of Kazakhstan – 21 forms of election documents.

9 forms of election documents refer to two campaigns simultaneously – for the election of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The proposed forms of election documents are provided for registration of election procedures of election commissions at specific stages of the campaign in accordance with the Constitutional Act of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan.”

A number of forms are established for the first time, taking into account changes in the Constitutional Act of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan.” First of all, this is due to the nomination of candidates in single-seat territorial constituencies by political parties, public associations, as well as their structural subdivisions (branches and representative offices), as well as citizens through self-nomination.

This is also related to the new norm in the constitutional act on the representation of three categories in the party list: women, youth, persons with disabilities, which together should be at least thirty percent of the total number of persons included in it.

Secretary of the Central Election Commission Mukhtar Yerman spoke on the final issue On certain issues of the activities of observers of foreign states, international organisations, representatives of foreign media in the early elections of members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In his speech, M. Yerman reported that the Republic of Kazakhstan, as a member of many international organisations, invariably fulfills its obligations to open an institution of international observation.

In Kazakhstan, observers of foreign states and international organisations may participate in election observation at the invitation of the Chairman of the Central Election Commission and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

During the meeting, a resolution of the Central Electoral Commission was adopted, which, in accordance with the Constitutional Act on Elections, provides an appropriate procedure for observation.

Observers of foreign states and international organisations shall be accredited to the CEC on the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A representative of a foreign media outlet may observe elections with an accreditation certificate issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Constitutional Act on Elections also provides the possibility of accompanying foreign observers by an interpreter.

The accreditation process ends at 18:00 local time five days before voting day, i.е. at 18:00 on March 13, 2023.

Chairman of the Central Election Commission Nurlan Abdirov, addressing the election commissions of all levels, stressed that “members of the territorial election commissions now exercise their powers on a professional permanent basis. This should affect the quality of electoral practices.

The main requirement for the organisers and participants of the elections is the strict observance of the law.

The Central Election Commission will exercise strict control over the observance of the rule of law, transparency and fairness of the upcoming elections.”

Following the meeting, an extended media briefing was held.