Preparations for Parliamentary Elections in Kazakhstan Discussed in Capital of African Union

Addis Ababa, February 24, 2023 – The specifics of the current election campaign to Mazhilis of the Parliament and to Maslikhats of Kazakhstan were the focus of an expert meeting with the participation of Ambassador of Kazakhstan, Permanent Representative to the African Union Barlybay Sadykov, held at the headquarters of the Ethiopian Press Agency.

The meeting was attended by experts in international affairs, political scientists, analysts, as well as the chief editors of Ethiopian press medias.

Ambassador Sadykov informed the experts about the implementation of political and socio-economic reforms initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Kazakhstan. The main attention is paid to the new legislative framework in which the current election campaign to Mazhilis of the Parliament and to Maslikhats of Kazakhstan is taking place.

Experts were interested in the introduction by a national referendum in 2022 of constitutional amendments to the legislation on elections in Kazakhstan, ensuring more democratic principles of the electoral system and the formation of an active Parliament.

The participants were also interested in the mechanisms for developing inclusive recommendations and decisions by the Supreme Council for Reforms in Kazakhstan, as well as the experience of its activities, useful for use in other countries, including Africa.

In addition, the meeting was devoted to the peculiarities of Kazakhstan's multi-vector peaceful foreign policy and prospects for the development of Kazakh-Ethiopian cooperation.

The participants learned more about Kazakhstan's experience in building and strengthening friendly mutually beneficial relations with neighboring countries, about approaches and tools for creating a favorable and predictable external environment for progressive economic development. The Ambassador spoke about the results of bilateral cooperation in 2022 and work plans for 2023.

In general, the experts wished the successful implementation of the ongoing reforms in Kazakhstan and agreed that the high competition of the election campaign that has begun will ensure the strengthening of the role of Parliament in state democratic governance. They also positively assessed the prospects for bilateral cooperation with Kazakhstan.