[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 139 (Thursday, October 27, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S12018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 293--CALLING FOR A FREE AND FAIR PRESIDENTIAL 
                 ELECTION IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

  Mr. McCAIN (for himself, Mr. Biden, Mr. Sununu, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Leahy, 
Mr. Smith, Mr. Graham, and Mr. Lieberman) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 293

       Whereas the Republic of Kazakhstan is scheduled to hold a 
     presidential election on December 4, 2005;
       Whereas Kazakhstan freely accepted commitments on 
     democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and other 
     fundamental freedoms and rights when it joined the 
     Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as 
     a participating state in 1992;
       Whereas the United States supports the promotion of 
     democracy and transparent, free, and fair elections in 
     Kazakhstan, consistent with that country's OSCE commitments;
       Whereas the OSCE declared that, while the 2004 
     parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan reflected improvement 
     over past parliamentary elections, the election process 
     ``fell short of OSCE commitments and other international 
     standards for democratic elections in many respects'';
       Whereas the OSCE election monitoring mission documented a 
     number of shortcomings in the parliamentary elections in 
     Kazakhstan, including the government's barring of 2 
     opposition leaders from running, a lack of transparency in 
     the work of the Central Election Commission, discrepancies in 
     voter lists, a lack of political balance in the composition 
     of election commissions, a strong media bias in favor of pro-
     presidential parties, pressure placed on voters to support 
     pro-presidential parties by local government officials and 
     workplace supervisors, and other shortcomings;
       Whereas in April 2005, Kazakhstan amended its election law 
     to ban political demonstrations in the period between the end 
     of election campaigns and the announcement of official 
     election results;
       Whereas on September 9, 2005, President Nursultan Nazarbaev 
     issued a decree directing state authorities to undertake 
     actions, which, if fully implemented, could improve on many 
     of the shortcomings found in previous elections;
       Whereas other elements of Kazakhstan's stated commitments 
     to OSCE principles and to fulfilling the goals of democracy 
     remain unfulfilled;
       Whereas there is currently no representation of the 
     opposition in either the Majilis or the Senate, the lower and 
     upper houses of the Kazakh Parliament, respectively;
       Whereas some independent media exists in Kazakhstan, but 
     self-censorship is common due to fears of official reprisal;
       Whereas the Department of State concluded in its Country 
     Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004 that ``the 
     [Kazakhstan] Government's human rights record remained poor, 
     and it continued to commit numerous abuses'';
       Whereas a transparent, free, and fair presidential election 
     process in Kazakhstan would mark an important step in that 
     country's progress toward its integration into the democratic 
     community of nations;
       Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires that 
     citizens be guaranteed the right and opportunity to exercise 
     their civil and political rights, free from intimidation, 
     undue influence, threats of political retribution, or other 
     forms of coercion by national or local authorities or others; 
     and
       Whereas a genuinely free and fair election requires 
     government and public authorities to ensure that candidates 
     and political parties enjoy equal treatment before the law 
     and that government resources are not employed to the 
     advantage of individual candidates or political parties: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) calls on the Government of Kazakhstan to hold an 
     orderly, peaceful, free, and fair presidential election in 
     December 2005, in accordance with all Organization for 
     Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) guidelines;
       (2) calls upon the Government of Kazakhstan to guarantee 
     the full participation of opposition figures and parties in 
     the upcoming election, and to permit the return of political 
     exiles;
       (3) believes that it is vital that the December election be 
     viewed by the people of Kazakhstan as fully free and fair, 
     and that all sides refrain from violence or intimidation 
     before, during, or after election day;
       (4) calls upon the Government of Kazakhstan to guarantee 
     unimpeded access to all aspects of the election process for 
     election monitors from the Office for Democratic Institutions 
     and Human Rights of the OSCE, Kazakh political parties, 
     representatives of candidates, nongovernmental organizations, 
     and other private institutions and organizations, both 
     foreign and domestic;
       (5) urges the international community and domestic 
     nongovernmental organizations to provide a sufficient number 
     of election observers to ensure credible monitoring and 
     reporting of the December presidential election;
       (6) calls upon the Government of Kazakhstan to guarantee 
     freedom of speech and assembly; and
       (7) calls upon the Government of Kazakhstan to meet all of 
     its freely accepted OSCE commitments on democracy, human 
     rights, and the rule of law.

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