***
The analysis has shown a sizable number of appeals (60 appeals, or over 11%) on violations were submitted to the prosecution authorities by the “Ar.Ruk.Khak.” non-governmental foundation headed by Bakhytzhan Toregozhina.
These appeals were simultaneously published on an internet website where they transformed into a so called “violation map”.
By the end of voting this internet-map contained some 300 messages on violations of the election law. To date, we have verified 296 of them.
In 281 cases, or 96%, information published on the website was not confirmed, though website administrators presented information as recorded facts of violation.
Meanwhile, the inspection has shown the site published deliberately misleading and flagrantly false signals in the overwhelming majority of cases.
On January 10, 2012, the site published information that principal of school No.156 for talented children in Ust-Kamenogorsk, forced teachers in form of order to vote for the Nur Otan party candidates.
It was established that such educational institution does not exist in Ust-Kamenogorsk at all.
The site also posted a photo with notes in a school record book by Volkova Raisa Vikentyevna, a classroom teacher at secondary school No.10 in Petropavlovsk, asking parents to vote for the Nur Otan party.
As already reported, a teacher with such name does not work at school No.10 in Petropavlovsk.
At the moment, in connection with the complaint submitted to the prosecution office of Petropavlovsk by the school administration, a case on administrative infringement of law over the fact of actions discrediting honour and dignity of candidates and parties aiming to influence the result of voting (article 100 of the Code of Administrative procedures) has been instituted.
On January 11, the site published a report that principal of secondary school No.397 of the Mynshoky village in the Kyzylorda region Saule Sarsenbayeva forced classroom teachers to inform parents about the necessity to vote for the Nur Otan Party candidates.
The same report said principal of the Aibyn College Timur Balaimov forced teachers to bring 10 relatives or close friends to vote for Nur Otan.
As in the previous case, it was discovered that there is no such school in the Kyzylorda region, and neither there are heads of other educational organizations in the region with the mentioned personal data.
On January 13 the website issued information about unlawful actions of chairman of the “Astyk” apartment owners’ cooperative in Astana V.Gorovikov who under the instruction of the akim agitated residents to vote for Nur Otan.
The conducted inspection revealed that “Astyk” cooperative of apartment owners does not exist.
Further, the website posted information on the fact of alcohol intoxication of Azamat Sarykhanov, chairman of the precinct election commission № 96 in Shymkent. Once again the investigation gave the opposite results – the chairman of the commission for the mentioned area is Nasiya Altayeva, Sarykhanov does not even appear among the members of the commission.
Another message from the website also turned out to be untrue – chairman of electoral office № 82 in the city of Taraz Amir Niyazkulov was not in a state of intoxication. It was proved that there is a completely different person (O.Yermekbayev) appointed as the chairman of the commission.
The website also reported about facts of late opening of polling stations, particularly indicating stations № 90 in Ust-Kamenogorsk and № 94 in Shymkent. However, it was proved that opening ceremony of these stations was started at the scheduled time in the presence of international observers.
The list could go on and on, taking more than a dozen similar examples.
The above-mentioned circumstances allow us to make a conclusion that under the guise of independent monitoring this site was used to abuse the audience about the objectivity and transparency of the electoral process.
The fact of frivolousness of the 95 percent of the audited reports of violations points to the main focus of the website of providing untrue information about the status and situation with the electoral rights of citizens.
***
On Election Day, a variety of sources have reported the facts of large-scale “ballot stuffing”. Indeed, investigation detected some instances of attempts to undue interference in the voting process, including through implementing the ballot stuffing mechanism.
As it was stated these actions were described as provocative.
For example, in the Auezov district of the city of Almaty at polling station № 426 an unknown person made an act of large-scale “ballot stuffing” and after that escaped an attempt to arrest him.
However, when the ballot boxes were opened up in the presence of observers it was found out that an intruder had thrown not ballots but self made colored sheets of paper that were of similar size to real ballots.
Later, the offender himself voluntarily went to the prosecutor of the Auezov district and explained his action as his desire to test the vigilance of the commission members and observers. This fact led to pre-investigation procedures.
As reported earlier, on Election Day some unknown persons stole ballots in the town of Turkestan in the South Kazakhstan region.
I recall to the fact of stealing ballots while they were delivered to disabled people who had no opportunity to vote at polling stations, by unidentified persons who snatched 27 ballots out of the hands of the members of the visiting commission and ran away in an unknown direction.
This circumstance does not exclude the probability of the misuse of stolen ballot papers during further voting at the polling stations of the town.
However, as a result of operational actions, all 27 papers were found and returned to the polling station.
The investigation procedures are still being carried out. Those who are guilty in violations of the law will be brought to justice.
On the whole, the electoral campaign as well as Election Day itself were held in the atmosphere of stability.
No complaints and petitions of citizens on obstruction of their right to vote have been registered.
The results of supervisory activities in the period of election allow us to conclude that the election of deputies to the Mazhilis of Parliament and maslikhats was conducted in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Constitutional Law “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan”.
Date of issue: 2012-01-16
