Competitive Environment Intensifies
February 25, 2023
Last week the registration of candidates for deputies to Mazhilis of Parliament and maslikhats of all levels of Kazakhstan ended and the period of four weeks of campaigning started. As part of the outreach and preparatory work for the upcoming elections, an exit seminar-meeting was held in Qonaev with the participation of Deputy Chairman of CEC of Kazakhstan Konstantin Petrov, Head of Regional Akim's Office Tolegen Sarsembaev.
The event was also attended by specialists of local executive bodies, employees of the regional prosecutor's office, members of territorial election commissions, representatives of election headquarters of candidates and international observers.
Opening the event, Konstantin Petrov said that there was unprecedented political activity in the current election campaign and an enormous number of candidates registered for both Mazhilis and maslikhats.
"The election campaign is highly competitive, and it is crucial that every stage of the campaign adheres strictly to the legal framework. During the voting day, voters in the regions will be required to fill out five different A5-sized ballot papers simultaneously. Two of these ballots will be for electing deputies to the Majilis through party lists and single-member electoral districts, while the other two will be for electing deputies to the regional maslikhats through the same methods. The remaining ballot will be for city or district residents who will choose deputies of the corresponding maslikhat through majoritarian basis. It's important to note that each ballot will have a unique color to distinguish it from the others," emphasized the Deputy Chairman of the CEC.
Konstantin Petrov paid special attention to the formation of voter lists, the main criteria for which are completeness and accuracy. They should include current and reliable data on each voter and singularity, so that the same voter appears only in one list.
Tolegen Sarsembaev, Head of the Regional Akim's Office, informed about the work done in the region to prepare for the elections. In the region, 849 electoral commissions are involved in the upcoming elections, including 11 territorial, 629 precinct, and 209 district commissions. Citizens can get information about their polling station and the availability of names in the voter lists through the service "Voter Search" - sailau.almobl.kz, chat-bot in Telegram @sailau_almobl_bot and through call centers by phone number 109.
Tolegen Sarsembaev said that the regional akim’s office identified 197 locations for meetings of candidates with voters and 709 locations for the placement of campaigning. Particular attention is paid to ensuring accessibility for citizens with disabilities - there are 1,353 of them in the region.
“For today from 601 polling stations 595 of them are provided with ramps, at other 6 polling stations there is no necessity for ramps, tactile indicators at the entrance are provided for 390 polling stations. Besides, during the period of voting all open polling stations will be equipped with corners and booths for disabled voters. For 338 voters with a hearing impairment, information will be posted at the polling stations to assist online or off-line sign language interpreter services. In 6 districts and the city of Konaev, sign language specialists will be engaged at the polling stations for voters with hearing impairment; in the remaining 4 districts there will be an online format. In the regional center and in all districts on the day of voting 18 vehicles of the "Invataxi" service will be involved,” said the head of the regional akim's office.
It is also worth noting that within the framework of seminar-meeting a representative of regional prosecutor's office also made a speech, who informed about supervision over observance of law by participants of electoral process.
Then, during a specially organized business game, members of the regional election commission simulated the process of voting at polling stations, demonstrating all the work of election commissions on the voting day. At the end of a seminar-meeting the members of the Central Electoral Commission answered all the questions of the territorial electoral commissions.
Opening the event, Konstantin Petrov said that there was unprecedented political activity in the current election campaign and an enormous number of candidates registered for both Mazhilis and maslikhats.
"The election campaign is highly competitive, and it is crucial that every stage of the campaign adheres strictly to the legal framework. During the voting day, voters in the regions will be required to fill out five different A5-sized ballot papers simultaneously. Two of these ballots will be for electing deputies to the Majilis through party lists and single-member electoral districts, while the other two will be for electing deputies to the regional maslikhats through the same methods. The remaining ballot will be for city or district residents who will choose deputies of the corresponding maslikhat through majoritarian basis. It's important to note that each ballot will have a unique color to distinguish it from the others," emphasized the Deputy Chairman of the CEC.
Konstantin Petrov paid special attention to the formation of voter lists, the main criteria for which are completeness and accuracy. They should include current and reliable data on each voter and singularity, so that the same voter appears only in one list.
Tolegen Sarsembaev, Head of the Regional Akim's Office, informed about the work done in the region to prepare for the elections. In the region, 849 electoral commissions are involved in the upcoming elections, including 11 territorial, 629 precinct, and 209 district commissions. Citizens can get information about their polling station and the availability of names in the voter lists through the service "Voter Search" - sailau.almobl.kz, chat-bot in Telegram @sailau_almobl_bot and through call centers by phone number 109.
Tolegen Sarsembaev said that the regional akim’s office identified 197 locations for meetings of candidates with voters and 709 locations for the placement of campaigning. Particular attention is paid to ensuring accessibility for citizens with disabilities - there are 1,353 of them in the region.
“For today from 601 polling stations 595 of them are provided with ramps, at other 6 polling stations there is no necessity for ramps, tactile indicators at the entrance are provided for 390 polling stations. Besides, during the period of voting all open polling stations will be equipped with corners and booths for disabled voters. For 338 voters with a hearing impairment, information will be posted at the polling stations to assist online or off-line sign language interpreter services. In 6 districts and the city of Konaev, sign language specialists will be engaged at the polling stations for voters with hearing impairment; in the remaining 4 districts there will be an online format. In the regional center and in all districts on the day of voting 18 vehicles of the "Invataxi" service will be involved,” said the head of the regional akim's office.
It is also worth noting that within the framework of seminar-meeting a representative of regional prosecutor's office also made a speech, who informed about supervision over observance of law by participants of electoral process.
Then, during a specially organized business game, members of the regional election commission simulated the process of voting at polling stations, demonstrating all the work of election commissions on the voting day. At the end of a seminar-meeting the members of the Central Electoral Commission answered all the questions of the territorial electoral commissions.
