The Telegraph 16 January 2012 Kazakhstan's parliamentary election has been described by European vote monitors as restrictive and falling short of democratic standards. Their assessment pulls away the thin democratic veil that the Kazakh authorities had tried to drape over the election. The vote may have ended Kazakhstan's one-party parliament but the two new entrants are pro-presidential parties and not genuine opposition. "Notwithstanding the

Wall Street Journal 16 January 2012 ALMATY, Kazakhstan—The ruling Nur Otan Party scored a widely expected, sweeping victory in Sunday's parliamentary vote, according to preliminary results, but European observers said the poll "did not meet fundamental principles of democratic elections." "We expected better," said Joao Soares, the head of a 300-strong team of international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,

New York Times 16 January 2012 This former Soviet republic, which in 20 years of independence has yet to hold an election that Western observers deemed to be fair, failed again over the weekend. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the main Western-backed group monitoring elections in the former Soviet Union, issued a statement on Monday that criticized the Kazakh authorities for deregistering parties and candidates at the

Joao Soares in the field on election day, 15 January 2012. ASTANA, 16 January 2012 – Notwithstanding the government's stated ambition to strengthen Kazakhstan's democratic processes and conduct elections in line with international standards, yesterday's early parliamentary vote still did not meet fundamental principles of democratic elections, the international observers concluded in a statement issued today. The elections were well

GAZETA.KZ 12 January 2012 OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is sending observers to Zhanaozen town of Mangystau region to monitor the early parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan on January 15. Joao Soares, head of OSCE PA Mission, announced this after his meeting with Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov on Thursday. Mr. Soares expressed hope for the full observance of human rights and freedoms in the Majilis elections, as stated during the

EURASIANET 12 January 2012 Voters in Kazakhstan will head to the polls on January 15 in a parliamentary election that is sure to be the tensest in the country's two decades of independence. The governing Nur Otan party, headed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, is currently the only party represented in parliament, and seems certain to win an overwhelming majority of seats in the coming election. However, this vote follows a troubled 2011, when