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Observers’ Analysis of the Election Only thirteen years ago, as a republic of the former Soviet Union, the idea of free elections in Kazakhstan was unthinkable. At Independence, Kazakhstan did not possess any of the institutions, laws and customs that are fundamental to the development of a genuine democracy. The Majilis elections of 2004 have proved that things have changed. The CEC welcomes the fact that this has been clearly recognised by all the international Observers who participated in the elections, and notes the remarks contained in the various statements that have been issued following the close of polls on 19th September. In the most fundamental respects, the elections represent a significant step towards an open and democratic state. The most obvious evidence for this is the extent of voter participation, with more than half the electorate (56%) turning out to vote. This represents a higher turnout even than for the recent European Parliament elections, and indicates a growing appetite among the Kazakhstan electorate for participating in the political process. The work of the CEC in educating the public concerning their electoral rights has been praised by the International Election Observer Mission (IEOM), including representatives of the OSCE and a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which described official voter education as being carried out “professionally and effectively” (see IEOM Statement of 20th September). Secondly, voters were able to make an informed choice, with nearly 700 candidates standing from ten political parties and blocks from across the political spectrum. This fact also has been recognised by the IEOM. In the words of Tana de Zulueta, Head of the Parliamentary Delegation of the Council of Europe, “The voters had a real choice with 10 parties and blocks registered, including an opposition party (DCK) that had been refused registration in previous elections.” Thirdly, in the period running up to the actual vote, there was an open and vigorous public debate. The media covered the election widely and there were debates between the parties on national television. Once again, this fact has been acknowledged by the IEOM, whose statement “recognised improvements regarding media. Seven TV debates, albeit restrictive in format, gave the respective parties opportunities to inform the public of their views. There were no cases of media outlets being shut down or journalists being prosecuted.” Fourthly, the process itself was transparent, with the largest ever numbers of international Observers invited to watch a Kazakhstan election (see full breakdown below). Indeed, it is the very transparency of the process that has enabled the IEOM to gather such valuable critical data about the election. This will now contribute to a sober evaluation of all aspects of the election in association with the CEC. Fifthly, the Elections Law of 2004 has been recognised by the OSCE as being a notable improvement on previous legislation, and in the view of the CEC it has shown that it is capable of bringing about a free and fair poll. This assessment conforms to the favourable analysis of the law commissioned by the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan from the distinguished British legal expert, Professor Christopher Greenwood, QC, which is published on this website. Finally, on Election Day, as the IEOM has confirmed, there was calm and order at every one of the country’s 1,300 polling stations. In its Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, the IEOM has praised other aspects of the election process, including: the introduction of transparent ballot boxes; the provision of greater rights to domestic Observers; the vigour with which the CEC and the Public Prosecutor moved against a violation of the elections law by a local government official; and the decision by the CEC to reduce the number of polling stations intended to use electronic voting when it became clear that this technology needed to be introduced cautiously. Separately, CIS Executive Secretary Vladimir Rushailo, who led a mission of 424 election observers from the former Soviet Union, gave the vote a clean bill of health despite what he called minor irregularities. "The CIS election observers believe the legislative elections were generally well organized. The shortcomings that have already been noted during the run-up to the polls, the election campaign, and the voting itself did not substantially affect the free choice of the voters. Neither did they affect the result of the polls.” In other respects, there have been sharp criticisms of the way in which aspects of the election were implemented, particularly with respect to logistics and technical issues. The criticisms of the IEOM are set out in detail in its preliminary report, published on this website, and will form part of an intensive and ongoing dialogue with the OSCE and PACE in the aftermath of the election.
As we have seen, one of the key developments of the 2004 Majilis elections was the undertaking by the Kazakhstan Central Election Commission to host more than 900 Observers, including from the CIS, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE, 17 individual countries and a wide range of international NGOs. Throughout the election, the CEC ensured that this unprecedented number of international observers was given full access to all aspects of the election process in every one of Kazakhstan’s 1,300 polling stations. The scale and logistics of this task should not be underestimated. The breakdown of the number of official Observers was as follows (list as at 18/9/04): Organisation: OSCE: 297 (265 short-term, 32 long-term, drawn from 33 countries) Country: Czech Republic (3); France (3); Germany (1); Great Britain (1); India (3); Israel (7); Italy (3); Spain (3); China (4); Lithuania (1); Latvia (1); Malaysia (4); Mongolia (3); Romania (3); USA (1); Thailand (11); Turkey (26). The full list of Observers by name, organisation or country may be found by clicking on this link.
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