The European Union has noted this Tuesday that it takes note of the preliminary results of the parliamentary elections held on August 23 in Kazakhstan, in which the ruling Kazakh party Adilet (Justice), led by President Kasim Yomart Tokayev, has prevailed, in a context marked by conditions of "limited political and media pluralism."
According to the European External Action Service (EEAS) in a statement, the EU "takes note" of the provisional data from elections organized after the reform of the Kazakh political system, which resulted in the approval in a referendum, last March, of a new Constitution and the creation of a unicameral Parliament, the Kurultai.
"The EU takes note of the preliminary conclusions of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which underline that the elections were held in conditions of limited political and media pluralism and with a legal framework not aligned with international standards for democratic elections," the text states, which also mentions the irregularities pointed out by the OSCE during the election day.
Among those anomalies, the international body has pointed to problems in the vote counting and discrepancies between the voter activity observed on the ground and the participation figures officially disseminated by the Kazakh authorities.
Despite these criticisms, the EU has recognized "the efforts" of the Kazakh authorities to carry out the elections "in a well-prepared and orderly manner, despite the short time frame between the call for the elections and their organization," and has valued the involvement of both political parties and citizens in the process.
The community bloc has urged Kazakhstan "firmly" to continue "its work on democratic reforms" and has reiterated its willingness to "support the country's reform agenda," especially in the areas of Human Rights, the rule of law, and democratic governance.
"We are willing to continue our cooperation with Kazakhstan to further strengthen our strategic partnership, based on shared values and mutual respect," concludes the EEAS statement.
Victory of Adilet and criticism for lack of pluralism
The Adilet party (Justice), led by President Kasim Yomart Tokayev, achieved victory in the parliamentary elections this Monday after garnering 71.17% of the votes, according to the preliminary results announced by the Central Electoral Commission of the Central Asian country.
Tokayev has celebrated these results, which reinforce his political position. In a message delivered after the first provisional data was known, the head of state thanked the support of the population and highlighted the "civil maturity" demonstrated by the Kazakhs during the voting.
However, the OSCE has warned that, although the elections had a "good technical preparation," they took place in an environment characterized by a "lack of political pluralism," which limits real competition among options and the full compliance of the process with international democratic standards.