OSCE Chairperson welcomes Kazakhstan President’s decision not to hold referendum on extending presidential term

VILNIUS, 31 January 2011 – The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Audronius Ažubalis, welcomed today's decision by the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, not to hold a referendum on extending his term of office. The decision was made after the Constitutional Council had found the law on extending the presidential term by referendum unconstitutional.

In a telephone conversation with the 2010 OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister and Secretary of State Kanat Saudabayev, Ažubalis also took note of President Nazarbayev's proposal for an early presidential election.

"At the OSCE Astana Summit – the Organization's first in 11 years – we reaffirmed OSCE commitments, including those related to holding democratic elections at reasonable intervals. These commitments must be upheld in all participating States. I extend my support to Kazakhstan's leadership on this issue," Ažubalis said.