Kazakh diplomats briefed foreign experts on the country's preparations for parliamentary elections

Nur-Sultan, December 21, 2020 - Diplomatic missions of Kazakhstan abroad have become actively engaged in the preparation for the elections of deputies to the Mazhilis of the Parliament, scheduled for January 10, 2021. In this regard, several foreign missions held briefings for local experts and media representatives.

A briefing was held in a semi-digital format for the political and business establishment of the United Kingdom, as well as representatives of the British and international media. In his speech, Kazakh Ambassador Erlan Idrissov stressed that Kazakhstan is actively implementing a large-scale program of political reforms, and the upcoming voting is aimed at confirming the country's commitment to holding elections in accordance with international standards. Notably, the threshold for registering political parties has been halved – from 40,000 to 20,000 people, and the current legislation has been amended to ensure a 30% quota for women and young people on the lists of candidates from political parties, to promote further democratization of the country's political system. National legislation has been liberalized in terms of ensuring freedom of assembly.  The authorization procedure for the organization of assemblies has been changed to one of notification.

In Vilnius, Ambassador of Kazakhstan Viktor Temirbayev also held a briefing for representatives of the national and regional media and deputies of the Seimas of Lithuania, during which he informed the participants about the organizational stages of the election preparations and the parties participating in the election. The diplomat emphasized that the elections will be held in new realities, which were made possible through the implementation of the concept of a “listening state” as part of further political modernization of the country.

During a briefing for the Romanian media, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Bucharest, Nurbakh Rustemov, also outlined the priority directions of development of our country, set out by the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his Address to the nation "Kazakhstan in a new reality: time for action". The diplomat spoke about the development of a multiparty system, enhancing the participation of civil society in the political life of Kazakhstan, the establishment of the institute of parliamentary opposition and other steps aimed at creating conditions for citizens to exercise their full political rights.