Organisation : Central Election Commission Kazakhstan
Facility : Voting Procedure
Country : Kazakhstan
Voting Procedure : http://election.kz/portal/page?_pageid=153,77166&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Home page : http://election.kz/portal/page?_pageid=115,1&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
The procedure of voting :
The ballot paper :
1. The ballot paper includes all the registered candidates with indication of the surname, name and patronymic in the alphabetic order of the state language. The ballot paper for voting for political parties includes the names of political parties in the order defined by a toss-up. The toss-up is conducted by the Central Election Commission. The procedure of conducting of a toss-up is defined by the Central Election Commission.
2. The ballots are printed in the state and Russian languages. The ballots are produced in the amount equal to the number of voters in electoral district with a reserve of 1 percent of the total number of voters of the given electoral district.
3. The ballots are delivered to the local election commissions not later than one day before the elections with a reserve of 1 percent of the total number of voters in an electoral precinct.
4. (Excluded by the Constitutional Act of the Republic as of April 14, 2004 ? 545-II).
5. The premises where the ballots are kept are to be sealed and shall be handed over for protection of the law-enforcement bodies.
Time and place of voting :
1. Voting on Elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, elections of deputies of Mazhilis of the Parliament and Maslikhats, members of other local self-administration bodies is conducted on the day of elections from seven o’clock ( 7 a.m.) till twenty o’clock ( 8 p.m.) of local time. The territorial or district election commissions by presentation of the corresponding hakim and the divisional election commissions have the right to establish other time for beginning and end of voting. At that, voting cannot begin before six o’clock ( 6 a.m.) and end after twenty two o’clock (22 p.m.). The voters should accept and be notified not later than seven days before the ballot day about the decision of the territorial or district commissions to change the time for the beginning and end of voting.
2. The local election commission shall notify voters through mass media and in other ways about the time and place of voting not later than ten days before and at holding of the election of members of local self-administration bodies other than Maslikhats – not later than five days before the day of voting.
3. In the polling stations formed on board the ships belonging to the Republic of Kazakhstan that on the day of elections are in navigation, in the military units, remote and out-of-the-way areas, in distant pastures for cattle grazing, in rest houses, health centers, inpatient treatment-and-prophylactic establishments, investigatory isolators and isolators of the temporary detention and also in the representative offices and agencies of the Republic of Kazakhstan in foreign states, the local election commission can declare the voting finished at any time if all voters included in the list have voted. The list of such polling stations is approved by the corresponding election commission not later than seven days before elections while at holding of elections of members of local self-administration bodies other than Maslikhats – not later than three days before elections.
4. Voting during elections of the Senate deputies is conducted within one day. At that, the time of voting shall be defined by the territorial election commission.
The premises for voting :
1. Voting on Elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, elections of the deputies of the Parliament, Maslikhats and members of other local self-administration bodies shall be conducted in specially allocated premises equipped with the required number of polling booths for secret vote. Places should be arranged for issue of ballots and ballot-boxes must be arranged in such a way that voters at the approach to them will inevitably have to pass through the polling booths for secret vote. At that, observers, proxies, representatives of mass media and members of the election commission should be ensured a possibility to watch the ballot-boxes, the entrance and exit from the booths for secret vote.
2. The persons who are staying in the premises for voting are strictly obliged to observe the rules established by the election commission. The chairman of the corresponding election commission regulates the number of the voters to stay in the premise to vote simultaneously; shall be responsible for the order and has the right to demand from anyone who offends the provisions of the present Constitutional Act and hinders the conducting of voting to leave the premise.
** On the ballot day, all the persons not involved in the election process are forbidden to stay in the polling station.
** In case of infringement of the Act of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Elections, the member of the divisional election commission shall immediately be debarred from participation in the work of the commission, the observer and other persons shall be sent away from the premise for voting based on the well-grounded decision of the election commission accepted in writing.
** Execution of the given decision shall be realized by the law-enforcement bodies, the latter shall also undertake all possible measures to make answerable the discharged member of the election commission and the sent away observer or any other person for their violation of the provisions and rules of the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
3. Ensuring the order in the voting places is assigned to the law-enforcement bodies.
The employees of the law-enforcement bodies shall stay in the premises for voting only by invitation of the commission chairman and are obliged to leave it immediately after recovering of order or at a request of the chairman.
Opening of the voting :
1. On the ballot day of the Elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, elections of the deputies of Mazhilis to be elected based on the party list, Maslikhats and members of other local self-administration bodies the local election commissions shall open the voting stations one hour prior to the beginning of voting.
2. On the ballot day on elections of deputies of the Senate and deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament to be elected by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, the corresponding territorial election commissions shall open the voting stations one hour prior to the beginning of voting.
3. (Excluded by the Constitutional Act of the Republic as of April 14, 2004 ? 545-II).
4. The chairman of the local (territorial) election commission:
1) Thirty minutes prior to the beginning of voting in presence of the commission members shall check the ballot-boxes for availability or absence of ballots in them, integrity of ballot-boxes, seals or applies a seal on the ballot-boxes;
2) Defines the members of the commission responsible for issue (giving out) of ballots.
Organization of voting :
1. Each voter (elector) votes personally.
2. At elections, transfer of the right to vote, as well as voting for other persons is impermissible.
3. Ballot-papers should be issued to voters (electors) on the basis of the electoral registers (lists of electors) after showing a document that certifies the personality of the voter (elector).
4. Voters (electors) put their signature in the list in confirmation of receiving by them of the ballot-papers.
5. A member of the commission, who has given out the ballot-paper (ballot-papers), puts his/her signature in it/them, and also signs his/her name in the list against the surname of the voter (elector) who has received the ballot-paper (ballot-papers).
The chairman and the secretary of the election commission have no right to give out ballot-papers.
6. If some voters cannot come to the polling station for voting due to their state of health, owing to a need to nurse after an ill member of their family, including the voters staying in remote and difficult for access places where no elections stations were organized, the local election commission shall organize voting in the place of staying of such voters based on their written requests that shall be submitted not later than twelve hours before the ballot day by the local time.
** At reception of the application indicated in the present item, the chairman of the election commission makes a corresponding mark in the electoral register against the surname of the voter who has submitted an application.
** At organization of voting outside the premise for voting two members of the election commission shall accompany the portable ballot-box.
** Members of the local election commission are obliged to inform observers, proxies and representatives of mass media about voting of such voters outside the premises for voting.
** At departure of members of the election commission for voting outside the premises for voting, the observers or proxies have the right to accompany them.
** At voting outside the premise for voting, the members of the election commission should be provided with the necessary quantity of ballots with allowance for their possible damage.
** At voting outside the premise for voting the ballot-paper (ballot-papers) is issued to voters on the basis of an application for voting outside the premise for voting and in confirmation of such a will the voters shall put their signature in the application.
** The member of the commission who has given out the ballot-paper (ballot-papers) puts his/her signature in it and also signs the application for voting outside the premise for voting.
6-1. When an elector changes the place of his or her staying within the period between submission of the register of votes for the public observation and the day of elections, the district election commission shall issue for such a voter an off-the-register-certificate that confirms his or her right to vote based on the request of the latter and submission of a document identifying his or her personality. In this case an appropriate note shall be made in the register of voters. When a voter submits his or her off-the-register certificate for voting, the district election commission shall include the voter on the Election Day in the register of voters of the voting place where the elector is staying.
** Absentee ballot shall be issued to voters willing to vote in another electoral precinct or in another polling station of the same population center.
** Absentee ballots shall be issued after 06.00 p.m. local time of the day preceding the voting day
7. (Excluded by the Constitutional Act of the Republic as of April 14, 2004 ? 545-II).
8. (Excluded by the Constitutional Act of the Republic of Kazakhstan as of April 14, 2004 ? 545-II).
9. Organization and conducting of voting according to item 6 of the present article should exclude a possibility of infringement of the election franchises of the citizen, infringement of secrecy of the ballot or distortion of the voter’s declaration of will.
Conducting of voting :
1. Ballots are filled in by voters in a polling booth for secret vote. At their filling in, presence of anybody, except for the voter, is forbidden. The voter (elector) who does not have a possibility to independently fill in a ballot has the right to be assisted by a person whom he/she trusts. After voting, the surname of such a person will be written down in the electoral register next to the voter’s (elector’s) signature in confirmation of receiving a ballot.
This person cannot be:
1) A member of the election commission;
2) An official of the local representative or executive body;
3) A proxy of the candidate;
4) A journalist – a representative of mass media;
5) An observer registered in the corresponding election commission.
2. The voter (elector) puts any mark in an empty box to the right of the surname of the candidate for whom he/she votes.
In the ballot with names of political parties, the voter puts any mark in an empty box to the right of the name of the political party for which he/she votes.
3. The voter at elections of members of other local self-administration bodies than Maslikhats puts any mark in an empty box to the right of the surnames of those candidates for whom he/she votes.
3-1. It is impermissible to put down any marks in the ballot with a pencil, and also to enter any amendments into it.
4. The filled in reports are dropped by the voter (elector) in the ballot-box.