Brussels, 22/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 22 March, the European Union deemed that much effort was needed in Kazakhstan for elections to be democratic, judging by the preliminary observations and conclusions of the international election observation mission for the early parliamentary elections on 20 March 2016.
In a press release, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that according to these observations and conclusions, “Kazakhstan still has a considerable way to go in meeting its OSCE/ODIHR commitments for democratic elections”. According to the mission's statement, “a comprehensive reform of the current legal framework is required, as it restricts fundamental civil and political rights”. “Serious procedural errors and irregularities were noted during voting, counting and tabulation”, the statement says, as reported by Mogherini's spokesperson. However, the spokesperson added that the preliminary observations and conclusions had shown a positive development as regards the inclusivity of candidate registration, with candidates able to campaign freely.
Mogherini's spokesperson stated that “it is important that the central election commission is preparing a comprehensive proposal of amendments to the election law to be considered in 2017 with a view to addressing previous OSCE/ODIHR recommendations”. The spokesperson added that the EU was ready to help the Kazakh authorities in addressing these recommendations “in the spirit of the enhanced partnership and cooperation agreement signed in Astana in December 2015”.
The party of Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Nur-Otan, garnered 82% of the votes, according to provisional results. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)