Members of the Riksdag observe parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan

Published: Friday 21 August 2026 11.17

Parliamentary elections will be held on 23 August in Kazakhstan. Six members of the Riksdag are included in an international delegation that will be observing the elections.

Six members of the Riksdag will participate in the election observation mission on 23 August. Their task is to monitor whether the elections are open and conducted in a correct manner by being present in selected parts of the country on election day.

The members will observe the actual elections, the sealing of the ballot papers and counting of the votes in various polling stations. The members of the Riksdag will observe the elections in and around the capital Astana and in Shymkent. Some 100 parliamentarians from 30 countries will participate in the election observation mission on 23 August.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is an organisation for security policy dialogue and cooperation in Europe. The OSCE works to prevent conflicts and to protect human rights. A central aspect of its activities is observing parliamentary and presidential elections in its participating states.

The following members of the Swedish delegation to the OSCE are participating:

• Ulrik Nilsson (Mod)
• Carina Ödebrink (SocDem)
• Johnny Swedin (SweDem)
• Helena Vilhelmsson (Cen)

The following members of the Swedish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are participating:

• Boriana Åberg (Mod)
• Victoria Tiblom (SweDem)

The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental organisation that works to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. The Council of Europe is the organisation behind the European Convention on Human Rights and operates the European Court of Human Rights, to which individuals can apply to get their rights examined.

By being present in selected parts of the country on election day, the task of the observers is to monitor that the elections are open and conducted in a correct manner. The parliamentarians observe the actual election procedure, the sealing of the ballot papers and the counting of the votes in various polling stations.

The election observation mission will be conducted in collaboration with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). ODIHR also has observers in the country for a longer period both before and after the elections.

Press conference in Astana on 24 August

A press conference will be held in Astana on 24 August, where a preliminary statement on the conduct of the elections will be delivered. The statement will be published on the websites of the Parliamentary Assemblies of the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

Further information

• Election observation
• Parliamentary assemblies
• The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
• The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, ODIHR
• The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)

Contact person for the media

• Simona de Ciutiis, International Adviser, International Department of the Riksdag, tel. +46 72 249 60 07, email [email protected]
• Petra Sjöström, International Adviser, International Department of the Riksdag, telephone +46 72 716 59 25 email [email protected]