Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights - Elections

Following an invitation from the government of Kazakhstan, the ODIHR has deployed an election observation mission to observe the 18 August 2007 elections to the Majilis, the lower chamber of Parliament.

The elections are being held after the dissolution of the Majilis, following amendment of the Constitution and the election law. The Majilis elections will be conducted under a new electoral system and will be held on the same day as elections for local representative bodies 

Long-term observation

The mission, headed by Ambassador Lubomir Kopaj, includes 19 experts based in Astana and Almaty, and 36 long-term observers who will be deployed in teams of two to all regions of the country.

The mission will assess the parliamentary elections for their compliance with principles for democratic electoral processes, including commitments agreed to by all 56 OSCE participating States, as well as with national legislation.

Observers will closely monitor campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant governmental bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, the media environment, the resolution of election-related disputes, and the use of electronic voting machines.

Election day

The ODIHR will request 400 short-term observers to be provided by OSCE participating States to monitor election day activities, including the opening of polling stations, voting, the vote count, and the tabulation of results.

In the framework of election observation, on the basis of its methodology, the OSCE/ODIHR co-operates with a number of international parliamentary and other bodies in the OSCE region.

The OSCE/ODIHR and the OSCE PA enjoy a specific co-operation in the area of election observation, based on a Co-operation Agreement signed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the President of the OSCE PA in 1997. The OSCE/ODIHR long-term mission will join efforts with a delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, headed by Consiglio Di Nino, head of Canada's OSCE PA delegation. The OSCE/ODIHR long-term mission will also co-operate with a delegation from the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly. The OSCE Chairman-in-Office will designate a special co-ordinator for short-term observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

Previous elections

The ODIHR observed elections in Kazakhstan in 1999, 2004 and 2005.