Senator Di Nino appointed OSCE Special Co-ordinator for Kazakh elections

COPENHAGEN, 27 July 2007 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, has appointed Canadian Senator Consiglio Di Nino as his Special Co-ordinator at the 18 August parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan.

Senator Di Nino will be the Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Observer Mission to Kazakhstan and, as Special Co-ordinator, will lead the OSCE short-term election observers at the Kazakh elections.

He will deliver a preliminary post-election statement on August 19.

"I am honoured over this appointment and look forward to participating in this important event for the people of Kazakhstan, as this country continues to develop its democracy," said Senator Di Nino.

Consiglio Di Nino has played a leading role in several OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) observation missions in the past. He is the Head of Canada's Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly and Vice-Chair of the PA's General Committee on Political Affairs and Security.

He has been a member of the Canadian Senate since 1990 and is currently Chairman of the Senate's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He is also a member of its Standing Committees on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament, and on National Finance.

In Kazakhstan, Di Nino will be accompanied by a number of senior members of the OSCE PA, including Treasurer Hans Raidel (Germany), Special Representative on the OSCE Budget Petur Blondal (Iceland), Head of the Swiss Delegation Christian Miesch, and Head of the Norwegian Delegation Morten Hoeglund.

The OSCE PA delegation is expected to observe polling in several regions of the country, including in both Astana and Almaty.

The OSCE Election Observation Mission is a joint undertaking of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, which has deployed a long-term mission headed by Lubomir Kopaj.