In this issue:
More Than 700 Quest For 77 Majilis Seats in September
OSCE/ODIHR Begins Observation of Parliamentary Election in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan May Triple Oil Output by 2015
Abai’s Birthday Celebrated by Recital of His Poetry
Say It In Kazakh:
Boxer --- Boks-shy [боксшы]
Wrestler --- Baluan [балуан]
Track and field --- Zhenyl Atletika [ZHE-nyhl Aht-LET- ika] [жеңіл атлетика]
More Than 700 Quest For 77 Majilis Seats in September
As nominations closed for Majilis candidates in the September 19 election, more than 700 people are seeking to run for the seventy-seven seats available. This signals an unprecedented interest in seats in Kazakhstan’s Majilis (lower house).
The commission said 681 people had put their names forward as possible candidates to run in the 67 single-seat constituencies. Of that number, 412 people proposed their candidacies themselves as independents. Of the rest, 64 people stood for the Otan party, 42 for Asar, 40 for Ak Zhol, 38 for Opposition People’s Union of Communists and Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, 27 for the Agrarian-Industrial Union of Laborers (bloc of Agrarian and Civic parties), 17 for the Democratic Party, ten for the Party of Patriots, eight for the Auyl Party, seven for Communist People’s Party, and five for the Rukhaniyat Party.
As of August 9, the Central Election Commission successfully registered 308 candidates, while eleven persons withdrew their nominations. The registration process will continue until August 18.
In addition to nominations in single-seat constituencies, Kazakhstan’s numerous political parties submitted separate lists of candidates to run on a nation-wide ballot, contesting 10 seats allocated on the vote percentage the party gets nationally. So far, the commission registered the so called party lists, which on average have 10 to 13 names, of Agrarian-Industrial Union of Laborers, Asar, Ak Zhol, Auyl, Communist People’s Party, Otan, the Opposition People’s Union of Communists and Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, and the Rukhaniyat Party. Two more parties, the Party of Patriots and the Democratic Party have submitted their names and are awaiting registration.
According to a recent poll conducted by the Kazakhstan’s Association of Sociologists and Political Scientists, close to 49 percent of eligible voters intend to exercise their rights in the September election. This represents a 7 percent increase above July figures, pointing to the fact that people are becoming increasingly involved in the election campaign as September 19 draws closer.
OSCE/ODIHR Begins Observation of Parliamentary Election in Kazakhstan
(This story was distributed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). For complete information about the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission click here.)
ASTANA/WARSAW, 11 August 2004 - The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has established an Election Observation Mission to observe the parliamentary election in the Republic of Kazakhstan taking place on 19 September.
The Mission, headed by Ambassador Robert L. Barry from the United States, includes a 12-member core team based in Astana and Almaty and 16 long-term international observers deployed throughout Kazakhstan. The Mission will assess the election process against international standards agreed to by all OSCE participating States, as well as against national legislation.
The observers will closely monitor the election campaign, including the media, political activities, the administrative preparations for the election, and the resolution of election disputes. The OSCE/ODIHR has requested 400 short-term observers for election day, who will be joined by a delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. The observers will monitor voting, counting, and tabulation of results, including the possible use of information technology in these important elements in the electoral process.
The day after the election, the Mission will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions. A comprehensive report will be issued by the OSCE/ODIHR approximately one month after the completion of the electoral process.
The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission operates separately and independently from the OSCE Centre in Almaty.
Kazakhstan May Triple Oil Output by 2015
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, Aug. 9 (UPI) - The head of Kazakhstan’s state oil company says his nation may triple its yearly oil production by 2015, CBSMarketwatch.com reports.
said his Central Asian country expects to
produce between 1.2 billion and 1.3 billion
barrels of oil annually by 2015, compared
with 396 million barrels produced last year.
Most of the increase would come from the
TengizChevroil, Karachaganak and North
Caspian projects, he said.
KazMunaiGas said the Tengiz field likely
has reserves of 23 billion barrels, and
recoverable reserves of between 5.5 billion
and 8.2 billion barrels.
The Karachaganak field could probably
produce more than 200,000 barrels daily,
the company estimates.
Abai’s Birthday Celebrated by Recital of His Poetry
People of all ages and from all walks of life marked the 159th birthday of Abai Kunanbai, one of the greatest Kazakh poets and philosophers by reciting his poems in Almaty on August 10.
Abai, who wrote numerous verses and poems as well as literary translations, is considered the founding father of Kazakh-language written literature. Perhaps, his most famous work is Kara Soz, the Book of Exhortations, written in the dying years of the tsarist Russian empire of which the Kazakh state was a part.
Kara Soz is a volume of 45 colorful exhortations
calling on his fellow Kazakhs to live up to their
best and rid themselves of bad habits. It is
considered one of the most powerful works in
Kazakh literature and one that continues to
have a strong appeal more than a hundred
years after it was written.
Here’s how Abai expressed himself on a
poet’s mission.
“Against ignorance, against evil,
He directs his ire, mourning.
The people will carry his word
To those who are close and faraway – from one side to another.
The court of justice and of reason,
Pass your judgment and punish!”
Sultan Orazalinov, a modern Kazakh writer, speaking at the celebration, said: “Abai is one of the greatest and outstanding poets of the world. His legacy, his prose, his poetry continue to bring us up to be noble, humane, delicate, knowledgeable and continue to exhort us to always stand up against the evil.”
(Those who want to learn more about Abai could click here.)
Things to Watch:
- Athletes from Kazakhstan begin competing in Athens Olympics this week. Watch for the Kazakhstan Olympic team members starting on August 14 with boxing, and aquatic events.
- Kazakhstan’s flag was raised into the skies above Athens today as the opening ceremony on August 13 approaches.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and agency reports)
Contact person: Roman Vassilenko
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
