Text of report by Kazakh Khabar TV on 18th October

[Presenter] The Central Electoral Commission [of Kazakhstan] is
inviting the citizens of Kazakhstan to a second round of
parliamentary elections on 24th October. A total of 94
candidates are competing for 47 seats in the Majlis [lower
house]. Marat Mukhamedsaliyev from Astana reports:
[Mukhamedsaliyev] Election funds for the parliamentary
candidates are considered to be unlocked until 23rd October.
This means that competing candidates will be able to campaign
for the electorate's votes through newspapers, television and
radio airtime. Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission
Yelena Kuleshova commented on the specifics of the campaign in
the second round of voting.

[Kuleshova] The candidates will not be given the
guaranteed [free] airtime [of 15 minute] on television, [10
minute] on radio and speeches in the press. They have already
used up this opportunity, which was granted to them by the
state, and now they must finance the use of any airtime with
their own election funds.

[Mukhamedsaliyev] The second round will create favourable
conditions for candidates who are not experiencing financial
problems. But the size of their election funds, which was
determined by law, can hardly be an immediate restriction to
the finish. However, in the final stage candidates who are
careless about the warnings of the CEC might find themselves
disqualified because of advertisement campaigns. Repeated
violation of the law on elections will only help one's rival
win a seat in parliament. However, the CEC has not considered
such things yet. The hot week is just beginning.

Source: Khabar TV, Almaty, in Russian 1430 gmt 18 Oct 99
BBC Mon CAU 181099/** KG/QU