Kazakhstan, Early Parliamentary Elections, 23 August 2026

Following an official invitation to observe the 23 August 2026 early parliamentary elections, based on the findings and conclusions of ODIHR’s Needs Assessment Mission, and in accordance with its mandate ODIHR has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) for these elections. 

The ODIHR EOM and the OSCE Programme Office in Astana operate separately under their specific mandates. 

Long-term observation

The mission is led by Ambassador Vincent Piket and consists of a core team of 12 experts based in Astana. In addition, 22 long-term observers will be deployed throughout the country from 18 July.

The mission will assess the early parliamentary elections for their compliance with OSCE commitments, other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. 

Observers will closely follow fundamental components of the elections such as:

• election-related legislation and its implementation,
• the work of the election administration and relevant state institutions,
• voter registration, 
• candidate registration,
• campaign environment and activities, including online and through social media platforms,
• institutional preparedness and effectiveness to detect and address disinformation, foreign and domestic misinformation and interference, co-operation with social media platforms, 
• campaign finance, including its regulation, transparency and accountability,
• media environment and media coverage of the elections,
• the resolution of election-related disputes.

The observers will also assess how prior ODIHR election related recommendations have been considered. The ODIHR EOM will conduct qualitative and quantitative monitoring of media coverage of the election campaign, including on social networks.

Election day 

ODIHR will request the secondment of 300 short-term observers from OSCE participating States to follow the election day proceedings. The short-term observers will be deployed throughout the country in multinational teams of two, which will monitor:

• the opening of polling stations
• the voting
• the counting of ballots
• the tabulation of results at all levels.

The day after the elections, ODIHR, together with its parliamentary partners, will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued several months after the end of the observation mission.

Co-operation with Other Partners

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe intend to deploy observer delegations for these elections. 

Previous elections 

ODIHR has previously observed 15 elections and 2 referenda in Kazakhstan, most recently the 2023 early parliamentary elections and the 2026 referendum.