Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Austria Alibek Bakayev held a meeting with the deputy of the Austrian National Assembly, Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Head of the OSCE PA Observation Mission Reinhold Lopatka to discuss the participation of parliamentarians in the observation of elections to the Mazhilis and maslikhats of Kazakhstan, which will take place on March 19, 2023, El.kz cites MFA.
During the meeting, the parties exchanged opinions on the outcome of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Winter Meeting, which took place in Vienna on 23-24 February. Furthermore, they agreed on the importance of continuing to make every effort to promote dialogue and trust-building within the Organization.
Ambassador Bakayev informed the Austrian deputy about preparing and organizing the election procedures by international best practices and standards. Emphasizing that participation in the OSCE PA and ODIHR election observation missions is a recognition of the democratic changes made in Kazakhstan in recent years, he expressed hope for an unbiased and objective assessment on the part of the observers.
In turn, the Austrian parliamentarian noted that the OSCE PA delegation is scheduled to arrive in Astana on March 17 and stay until March 20. He added that members of the Parliamentary Assembly are heading to Kazakhstan to give a fair assessment of the election process.
In addition, the parties discussed the current state and prospects of developing inter-parliamentary cooperation on the bilateral track.