Chair of the CEC specifies details of next presidential election

The presidential election in Kazakhstan will take place in December, 2006. Zaghipa Baliyeva, chair of the Central Election Commission, has stated this today, March 11, during a round table entitled "Improvement of election mechanisms. Election of governors of village districts, villages, and experimental election of districts of RK", KZ-today correspondent reports from Astana.

Z. Baliyeva has reminded that the term of the presidential election is stipulated by the Constitution of RK. "As per the Constitution, the presidential election is carried out on the first Sunday of December after the expiry of the current president's term," - the head of CEC has explained. The term of the current president expires on 20 January, 2006, therefore the date of the new presidential election must be announced in August, 2006, and in December of the same year the election must take place. "The procedure and the rules are the same, there have not been changes so far," - Z. Baliyeva has stated.

Besides, the chair of the Central Election Commission has stated that it is still unknown whether the electronic voting system "Sailau" will be used in rural districts. "If by December, 2006, the communications are all right in the rural districts, the system will be used," - she has explained.