Brussels, 21/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - The EU is “seriously concerned” by the fact that on 14 January, the parliament of Kazakhstan approved an amendment to the Constitution which makes possible the extension - by popular vote - of the current mandate of President Noursoultan Nazarbaïev for a further period of eight years. Replacing the normal presidential elections scheduled for 2012 and 2017 with a “plebiscite on a single presidential candidate” runs counter to the principles of the OSCE (recently reiterated at the Summit of Astana) and “would cast serious doubts on Kazakhstan's commitment to promote democracy and political pluralism”, said Catherine Ashton, on behalf of the 27, in a declaration published on 21 January. The EU calls on the president and authorities of Kazakhstan to guarantee that “free and fair” presidential elections can be held. (H.B./trans.fl)