Irene Charalambides (Cyprus) - Special Coordinator - and Reinhold Lopatka (Austria) - Head of OSCE PA Delegation COPENHAGEN, 13 March 2023 – Some 80 election observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will be deployed along with about 30 long-term observers and experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for the international election observation mission to Kazakhstan for the 19 March early parliamentary elections. The mission will mark the twelfth time the PA has observed elections in Kazakhstan since 1994.
Cypriot parliamentarian Irene Charalambides has been appointed to lead the OSCE short-term observer mission and deliver the statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference in Astana on 20 March. Austrian parliamentarian Reinhold Lopatka will lead the OSCE PA mission, which includes 60 members of parliament from 24 countries. They will work closely with ODIHR’s Head of Mission, Eoghan Murphy (Ireland), and its team of experts.
“The political environment elections take place in is especially interesting, and our large number of observers is a clear sign of the international community’s support to the democratic development of Kazakhstan,” said Charalambides, who serves as Vice-President of the OSCE PA and as Special Representative on Fighting Corruption. “These elections follow the political turmoil and deadly violence of January 2022, the Constitutional referendum, and the early presidential election of November 2022. There have also been a number of amendments to the legal framework, which we will pay close attention to.”
Lopatka, who serves as Vice-President of the OSCE PA, Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Countering Terrorism and as Special Representative for Parliamentary Dialogue on Ukraine, noted that the tragic January events triggered a major reshuffle in government. “The President introduced a reform agenda for the reset and renewal of all major political institutions,” Lopatka said. “Our observers look forward to seeing how these changes carry through in these early elections”.
Observers will be briefed by election administrators, experts, political party representatives, and civil society representatives for two days prior to election day.
The elections will be assessed against democratic commitments contained in the OSCE’s 1990 Copenhagen Document. Key provisions include: free voting procedures, a fair and free campaign atmosphere, access to media, and honest and accurate reporting of results.
For previous OSCE PA assessments of elections in Kazakhstan, please click here.
Watch a video on OSCE PA election observation here.
Members of the media interested in further information should contact the following spokesperson for the OSCE PA's observer team:
Anzhelika Ivanishcheva, Media Support Officer
Tel: +45 60 10 80 30
Email: [email protected]
