Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan to Determine Date of Presidential Election

Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan to Determine Date of Presidential Election

Controversy Over the Date of the Presidential Election in Kazakhstan Will Come to End With the Ruling of the Country's Constitutional Council and the Decision of the Majilis (Parliament) by this September

ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 10/PRNewswire/ -- The Constitutional Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan has announced that it would rule on the interpretation of items 1, article 41 and 1 of article 94 on the same date as the presidential elections in the country.Igor Rogov, Chairman of the Constitutional Council, conducted an open session of the Council today on the question and announced that an adjournment has been called forth by the decision to have two experts providing expert analysis on the issue. These will be the legal experts Sergei Udavtsev and Zaigali Kenjaliev. They have been invited pursuant to a respective request of the Majilis deputy Valery Kotovich who applied to the Constitutional Council.

Article 94 of the Constitution stipulates that elections are to be held in December, whilst Article 41 states that the president's term is of seven years. Since President Nazarbayev started his last term in January 1999 there is doubt as to which case applies. At the present moment, various political forces, active public and legal experts of the country have been arguing on which article takes primacy.

According to the Constitution, the only body duly authorized to interpret its provisions is the Constitutional Council. And it is also the body to approve validity of presidential elections. The Government's position is clear as stated by the Vice Minister of Justice Dulat Kusdavletov representing the Government at the sitting: "You have received the official answer of PM Danyal Akhmetov saying that interpretation of the Constitution norms doesn't lie within the jurisdiction of the Government. Thereupon, there can be no official statement of the Government on the issue."

As for the Central Elections Committee (CEC), through its Secretary, Valdimir Foos, it remains above the debate: "The CEC hadn't voiced any official stance, as it is not duly authorized to interpret the norms of the Constitution."

According to the Constitution, the Constitutional Council shall deliver a judgment within a month starting from the day of application submission. This term can be reduced to 10 days at the request of the Head of state if the issue permits of no delay. Furthermore, the President has the right to object to the judgment of the Constitutional Council as a whole or to a part of the judgment; the objections can be overcome by a 2/3 majority of the total Constitutional Council members. If the objection set by President is not overruled, the judgment delivered by the Constitutional Council shall be considered invalid.

According to the Constitution, the President of the Republic shall be elected by universal, equal and direct suffrage under a secret ballot for a seven-year term. Regular elections of the President of the Republic shall be held on the first Sunday of December. The date of presidential elections shall be set by the Majilis not later than second Sunday of September.

[code] Results of the last presidential elections in Kazakhstan

January 10th, 1999 (voter turnout: 88.3%) %
Nursultan Nazarbayev 79.8
Serikbolsyn Abdilin 11.7
Gani Kasymov 4.6
Engels Gabbasov 0.8[/code]

For more information, please contact:
Ivan Pandev
Marston-Nicholson
18 rue Duphot
75001 Paris
France
+33-(0)1-42-96-46-00
i.pandev@group-ibc.com

Source: Government of Kazakhstan

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