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Observation of the Early Parliamentary Elections in Kazakhstan (20 March 2016)

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Observation of the Early Parliamentary Elections in Kazakhstan (20 March 2016) http://assembly.coe.int Doc. 14061 12 May 2016 Observation of the early parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan (20 March 2016) Election observation report Ad hoc Committee of the Bureau Rapporteur: Mr Jordi XUCLÀ, Spain, Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Contents Page 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Legal framework and political context....................................................................................................... 2 3. Administration of elections, registration of voters and candidates............................................................. 3 4. Election campaign and media environment...............................................................................................4 5. Election day.............................................................................................................................................. 5 6. Conclusions and recommendations.......................................................................................................... 6 Appendix 1 – Composition of the ad hoc committee..................................................................................... 7 Appendix 2 – Programme of the observation of the early parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan.................8 Appendix 3 – Statement by the International Election Observation Mission................................................10 1. Introduction 1. The Republic of Kazakhstan has co-operated with the Council of Europe and its institutions since 1997. In 1997, the Parliament of Kazakhstan requested special guest status with the Parliamentary Assembly. In 1999, a request for observer status was lodged by the speakers of the two parliamentary chambers. This request was not granted following discussions in the Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee, as was also the case in 2009 following a further request made in 2006. 2. On 27 April 2004, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan signed a co-operation agreement to establish a political dialogue with a view to promoting the principles of parliamentary democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Kazakhstan. Members from both chambers regularly attend the Parliamentary Assembly sessions in Strasbourg. 3. Since 2004, the Parliamentary Assembly has observed all parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan. The Republic of Kazakhstan is a full member of the Council of Europe’s European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) since 2011. In April 2015, Mr Axel Fischer (EPP/CD) was appointed by the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy as rapporteur on “The relations of the Council of Europe with Kazakhstan”. 4. On 20 January 2016, the President of Kazakhstan, Mr Nursultan Nazarbayev, dissolved the lower chamber of parliament (Majilis) and called for early parliamentary elections on 20 March, eight months ahead of schedule. On 21 January 2016, the Parliamentary Assembly received an invitation letter from the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan to observe the early parliamentary elections. On 25 January 2016, the Bureau of the Assembly decided to observe the elections and constituted an ad hoc committee to this end F - 67075 Strasbourg Cedex | [email protected] | Tel: +33 3 88 41 2000 | Fax: +33 3 88 41 2733 Doc. 14061 Election observation report composed of 11 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) (see Appendix 1), plus the rapporteur of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy. Mr Jordi Xuclà (Spain, ALDE) was appointed Head of the observation delegation. 5. The ad hoc committee was part of the International Election Observation Mission, which also included the election observation missions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE-PA) and of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE (OSCE/ODIHR). 6. The ad hoc committee met in Astana from 18 to 21 March 2016. It held meetings, inter alia, with the representatives of the political parties contesting the elections, the representatives of the international community, the representative of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the Head of the Election Observation Mission of the OSCE/ODIHR and members of its core team, as well as representatives of civil society and the mass media (see Appendix 2). On 18 March, the Chairperson of the PACE ad hoc committee met with Mr Erlan Idrissov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. During the meeting, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan expressed the interest of the authorities to establish closer ties with different bodies of the Council of Europe, including with the Assembly. 7. On election day, the ad hoc committee split into seven teams, which observed the elections in and around Astana and Chimkent. 8. The International Election Observation Mission concluded that the 20 March early parliamentary elections were efficiently organized, with some progress noted, but they indicated that Kazakhstan still has a considerable way to go in order to meet its international commitments for democratic elections. The legal framework restricts fundamental civil and political rights, and comprehensive reform is required. In a positive development, candidate registration was inclusive, and six parties contested the elections. The Chairperson of the PACE ad hoc committee declared that “on election day, the citizens of Kazakhstan made their choice in a calm and free atmosphere. Regarding the election campaign and legislation, the PACE delegation welcomes the engagement of the authorities to reform the election legal framework in 2017. This election campaign also showed that Kazakhstan needs a more open and competitive political environment, which is a key condition for long-term democratic stability. The legal reform should be carried out in close co-operation with the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, of which Kazakhstan is a full member” (see the IEOM press release in Appendix 3). 2. Legal framework and political context 9. An early presidential election in Kazakhstan was held on 26 April 2015 having been originally scheduled for 2016. The Parliamentary Assembly received an invitation to observe the election, but declined it, due to a very busy schedule. The elections resulted in a victory for long-term incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who received 97.7% of the vote, winning a fifth term in office. 10. The early раrliаmепtаry elections in Kazakhstan were brоught forward to 20 Маrсh frоm November 2016. The main reason for holding early parliamentary elections, according to the authorities of Kazakhstan, was the fact that the wоrld is facing епоrmоus economic instability and uпсегtаiпtу. Kazakhstan has not bееп immune frоm these рrоblеms. Low рriсеs оf gas and oil related products, as well as оthеr ехtеrпаl factors have contributed to есопоmiс challenges in Kazakhstan. lt is against this difficult economic background that the parliamentary elections were brought forward. 11. The Republic of Kazakhstan became a full member of the Council of Europe Venice Commission in 2011 after being an observer for a number of years. However, the authorities have never requested an opinion from the Venice Commission on the electoral legislation. The legal framework for elections includes the Constitution, adopted in 1995 by referendum, the Constitutional Law on Elections as well as decisions and regulations of the Central Electoral Commission. Other relevant laws include, inter alia, the Law on Political Parties, the Criminal Code, the Administrative Offences Code, the Civil Procedure Code, and the Law on Peaceful Assemblies. The Constitution normally guarantees fundamental civil and political rights necessary for the conduct of democratic elections. 12. The lower House (Majilis) of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the legislative organ of the Republic. The term of office of the deputies is five years. The Majilis adopts laws, approves the candidature of the Prime Minister who is appointed by the President of Kazakhstan. The Majilis is composed by 107-members: 98 deputies of the Majilis are elected on the basis of party lists on a system of proportional representation and in one nationwide constituency while nine deputies are elected by the Assembly of the peoples of Kazakhstan 2 Doc. 14061 Election observation report (APK). The APK represents the various ethnic groups of Kazakhstan; currently it is composed of 446 representatives of ethnic and cultural associations whose main role is to ensure inter-ethnic consent in Kazakhstan. 13. The Election Law has undergone certain changes since the parliamentary elections in 2007. Most notably, following a 2009 amendment, the law provides for at least two parties to be represented in the Majilis. In the event of only one political party passing the 7% threshold, the party getting the second highest number of votes will also be allocated no less than two seats. This new system improved the situation; however, the threshold of 7% combined with the prohibition of electoral blocks creates difficulties for small parties. The Venice Commission, in its opinions concerning other countries, has on several occasions indicated that it considers thresholds above 5% as being problematic. 14. The last parliamentary elections, which took place on 15 January 2012, were also early
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