The referendum on the
construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan was conducted openly and
transparently. Kazakh citizens showed a high voter turnout, especially
representatives of the young electorate. This was stated by members of the
mission of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in
Asia (CICA) during a press conference at the Center for Assistance to
International Observers. According to the representatives of the Organization, voting
transparency, as well as unimpeded presence and expression of opinions of
public organizations and international observers were ensured. Thanks to prompt
and extensive media coverage of the entire referendum process, Kazakh citizens
were kept fully informed. According to Sadi Jafarov, the Head of the OTS
observer mission, the voting rights of the citizens were fully upheld. He
emphasized that the referendum was conducted in accordance with Kazakhstan's
national legislation and in line with internationally recognized standards.
«I am impressed by
Kazakhstan's approaches to involving society in addressing energy and
environmental issues, which are of utmost importance to the country. I would like to highlight the infrastructural and informational
preparations that were carried out to inform citizens about the upcoming
referendum. This includes news publications and mass media coverage, as well as
banners in the city of Astana and stickers on buses,» said Sultan Amirkhanov,
Legal Advisor of CICA Secretariat.
«We positively assess the referendum process in
Kazakhstan on this strategic issue. Our
observer mission mainly focused on polling stations in the city of Astana, we
were in 24 of them. In general, the process was transparent, all necessary
information was provided at the stations and we did not encounter any illegal
acts during our mission,» noted Sadi Jafarov, head of the OTS observer mission.
