IPA CIS International Observers Reviewed Preparations for Elections to Kurultai of Republic of Kazakhstan in St. Petersburg

A group of international observers from the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States is conducting long-term monitoring of the elections of members to the Kurultai of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

As part of the monitoring mission, the group, led by Deputy Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat - Director of the International Institute for Monitoring the Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of the IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD), Doctor of Law, Professor Ivan Mushket, visited the Consulate General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in St. Petersburg and met with Consul General Dmitriy Mikhno and consular staff members.

Dmitriy Mikhno briefed the observers on the preparations for and equipment of overseas polling station № 454 in St. Petersburg. He also described the cooperation between Kazakhstan's diplomatic missions and the relevant departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan in organizing voting abroad.

Ivan Mushket informed the participants that the IPA CIS international observers serving on the long-term monitoring expert group had been accredited by the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He emphasized that the IPA CIS is the only international organization that systematically monitors voting at overseas polling stations. The observation mission involves staff members of the IPA CIS IIMDD Offices in the CIS Member States, as well as election experts from across the Commonwealth and beyond.