CIS observers to start monitoring Kazakhstan presidential election on 18 May
The chief of the CIS observation mission is to be approved during the session of the Council of Permanent Plenipotentiary Representatives of the Participants of the Commonwealth on 16 April.
"I believe that the mission's HQ will open in Nur-Sultan on 18 May; an advance group of observers will go there. A small group of long-term observers will join them later. The majority of the observers will arrive somewhere 2-3 days prior to the election day," Sergei Lebedev informed.
After the Election Observation Department of the CIS Executive Committee received an invitation from the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the CIS got down to work. The CIS Executive Committee sent requests to the CIS member states asking them to nominate their candidates for the CIS observation mission. "We believe that the majority of the CIS participating states will respond to this request and nominate their candidates," Sergei Lebedev said.
The CIS Executive Committee believes that observers from the neighboring states will be willing to take part in the observation of the Kazakhstan presidential election. "We have already sent such invitations. These will be representatives of Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan," Sergei Lebedev said.
The exact number of CIS observers is still unknown; it will be finalized in collaboration with the Central Election Commission and the authorities of Kazakhstan. As was reported earlier, the presidential election in Kazakhstan is scheduled for 9 June 2019, BelTA reports.