Freedom of Assembly Still Restricted
Freedom of Assembly Still Restricted
Parliament in Kazakstan has approved plans to annul a legal provision that bans public demonstrations during elections. NBCentralAsia political experts argue that the move will be only a half-measure as long as a presidential decree remains in force requiring official permission to be granted before a protest meeting can take place.
On September 30, both chambers of parliament approved the first reading of a bill abolishing article 44, clause 6 of the country’s election law, which proscribes demonstrations in the period up until all the votes are counted in an election. A final decision will be taken in November when the legislation gets a second reading in parliament.
The ban was introduced in April 2005 following election-related disturbances that had produced regime change in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, and ahead of a Kazak presidential ballot in December that year. NBCentralAsia analysts say its timing was no coincidence.
Justice Minister Zagipa Balieva, who was among those proposing an end to the ban, argues that there is no longer a risk of similar protests taking place as a domino effect. She also believes that abolishing it will help accelerate democratic processes in Kazakstan.
However, other political observers doubt that the change will substantially increase freedom of assembly. As evidence, they cite a decree issued by President Nursultan Nazarbaev in March 1995 which prohibits public meetings unless they have been sanctioned in advance by the local authorities. An application has to be submitted ten days in advance of the event, and if permission is refused, there is no appeal and no requirement to explain the reason.
As one of NBCentralAsia’s experts noted, 60 such applications have been rejected in Almaty alone over the past year.
Last week, the opposition included freedom of assembly in a list of four main demands that it wants the government to fulfill as a precondition of Kazakstan becoming chair of the OSCE in 2009.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
On September 30, both chambers of parliament approved the first reading of a bill abolishing article 44, clause 6 of the country’s election law, which proscribes demonstrations in the period up until all the votes are counted in an election. A final decision will be taken in November when the legislation gets a second reading in parliament.
The ban was introduced in April 2005 following election-related disturbances that had produced regime change in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, and ahead of a Kazak presidential ballot in December that year. NBCentralAsia analysts say its timing was no coincidence.
Justice Minister Zagipa Balieva, who was among those proposing an end to the ban, argues that there is no longer a risk of similar protests taking place as a domino effect. She also believes that abolishing it will help accelerate democratic processes in Kazakstan.
However, other political observers doubt that the change will substantially increase freedom of assembly. As evidence, they cite a decree issued by President Nursultan Nazarbaev in March 1995 which prohibits public meetings unless they have been sanctioned in advance by the local authorities. An application has to be submitted ten days in advance of the event, and if permission is refused, there is no appeal and no requirement to explain the reason.
As one of NBCentralAsia’s experts noted, 60 such applications have been rejected in Almaty alone over the past year.
Last week, the opposition included freedom of assembly in a list of four main demands that it wants the government to fulfill as a precondition of Kazakstan becoming chair of the OSCE in 2009.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
