Kazakh Election Commission Nixes CIS Observer Group

(RFE/RL)

21 November 2005 -- Kazakhstan's Central Election Commission has stripped the Russia-based nongovernmental group CIS Elections Monitoring Organization (CIS-EMO) of its accreditation, "Kazakhstan Today" reported on 18 November.

Deputy Prosecutor-General Askhat Dautbaev explained that Kazakhstan allows international organizations to monitor its elections, but he said the CIS-EMO is "a foreign NGO registered in Russia in accordance with that country's laws," Khabar reported.

"We made a mistake [in originally accrediting CIS-EMO]," Kazakh TV1 quoted Election Commission Chairman Onalsyn Zhumabekov as saying.

Meanwhile, CIS-EMO mission head Marina Bogdanovich said her organization intends to appeal the commission's decision, Khabar reported.

CIS-EMO was founded in Nizhnii Novgorod in December 2003, RFE/RL reported in April.

Its missions are distinct from official CIS observer missions, but the CIS-EMO has produced reports on recent CIS elections that were consistent with the findings of CIS observer missions and contrary to the findings of OSCE observer missions.