Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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August 19, 2007

Observers Say Kazakh Vote Fell Short of International Standards
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=18CAFE9:A6F02AD83191E1600C1ABF95E2D35F449574F7DCC14957C0 Results leave
opposition with no seats in parliament





Kazakh people line up for ballot papers during parliamentary elections
at a polling station in Astana, Kazakhstan

International observers say Kazakhstan's parliamentary elections
failed to meet international standards, because of a lack of
transparency during the vote count and a high threshold for entering
parliament.

But the monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe also said Sunday that Saturday's vote was a step toward
democracy.

The former Soviet republic has never held a vote that was
internationally recognized as free and fair. 

Election officials in Kazakhstan say the party of President Nursultan
Nazarbayev has won a landslide 88 percent of the vote, leaving the
opposition with no seats in parliament.  Officials say voter turnout
was about 65 percent.

Mr. Nazarbayev congratulated thousands of supporters early today for
the turnout in the Central Asian country.

The Central Election Commission chairman Kuandyk Turgankulov said
Sunday the Nur Otan party won all 98 contested seats.  He said neither
the opposition Social Democratic Party, nor its rival Ak-Jol reached
the seven percent threshold for winning seats. 

Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.




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