Astana, Mar 20 (EFE).- Kazakhstan’s parliamentary elections offered voters more choices, although certain obstacles to fundamental freedoms and participation persist, the joint observation mission of the OSCE and ODIHR told a press conference on Monday.
“While the elections introduced elements of competitiveness to the political arena, diverse administrative obstacles negatively affected the equality of campaign opportunities for some self-nominated candidates,” the observer mission noted in its preliminary report.
According to observers, “the practice of deregistration created uncertainty for candidates over their continued participation in the contest.”
Sunday’s early parliamentary elections were held in the context of reforms introduced by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to bring this Central Asian country closer to holding elections in accordance with international standards, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) acknowledged.
The organization found that “legal amendments addressed several previous recommendations and provided increased choice for voters. However, limits on the exercise of fundamental freedoms remain, and some political groups continued to be prevented from participation as parties in elections.”
“Further changes to the legal framework are needed to provide a sufficient basis for conducting democratic elections,” international observers said.
Irene Charalambides, OSCE Special Co-ordinator and Leader of the short-term observers asserted that “democracy is a process that requires constant attention and dedication.”
“We have noted some welcome improvements, including related to election laws, but Kazakhstan will only achieve the stated political goal of democratic development if far-reaching reforms continue.”
The OSCE indicated that “overall, contestants campaigned actively and freely. Party platforms and messages addressed a wide range of social and economic issues but were generally supportive of the president’s reform agenda.”
“Most television channels monitored provided equitable, but only superficial coverage of the campaign activities of political parties in one joint news item. This, combined with the limited news, investigative and analytical coverage did not facilitate voters’ ability to make an informed choice,” observers pointed out.
“The increased competition, particularly with self-nominated candidates, is a significant development. However, legal and practical hurdles continue to detract from a fully open race among equals,” said Reinhold Lopatka, Leader of the delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Eoghan Murphy, Head of the election observation mission from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. (ODIHR), noted that “recently, the registration requirements for political parties were eased, partly addressing a previous ODIHR recommendation.”
“Still, the fact that there are those who continue to be prevented from participating in elections as political parties remains of concern and is not in line with international standards for democratic elections,” he said.
Murphy indicated that “on election day, which was calm, with voting organized in a smooth manner, significant procedural irregularities were observed during the counting and tabulation process.”
The early legislative elections held in Kazakhstan on Sunday concluded with the ruling party AMANAT winning over 53% of the votes, according to exit polls.
According to the poll by the Institute for Eurasian Integration, the ruling party received 53.46% of the votes, while the poll conducted by the Institute for Democracy gave them 53.33%.
Five other parties surpassed the 5% threshold that allows access to the proportional distribution of the 69 seats in the lower house of Parliament or Mazhilis, which are elected by party lists. EFE