Excerpts from report by the Kazakh news agency
Interfax-Kazakhstan

Almaty, 19th August: The Republican People's Party of
Kazakhstan (RPPK) will boycott the parliamentary elections if
the Central Electoral Commission refuses to register the leader
of the party, [former Prime Minister] Akezhan Kazhegeldin, as a
candidate for parliament.

At a press conference on Thursday [19th August], the head
of the RPPK's campaign headquarters, Vitaliy Voronov, described
the decision, which was taken by the party's first congress
last Wednesday [18th August], as a compromise.
Voronov said that during the recent meeting with
representatives of the OSCE in Kazakhstan, leaders of most
parties, except for the RPPK and the Communist Party, spoke in
favour of a large group of OSCE observers being present in the
republic during the parliamentary elections [in September and
October 1999]. "It would be senseless to boycott the elections
completely, under these conditions, because observers will
still recognize the elections as legitimate," Voronov said.

Meanwhile, the RPPK thinks that the present electoral
legistlation does not conform to world democratic standards.
Voronov said that the country's leadership deceived the OSCE by
telling its representatives at previous meetings that a
democratic electoral law would be adopted in the republic, and
that its draft will be agreed with all parties and public
associations before its adoption. However, "none of this
happened", Voronov emphasized.

He said that the electoral legislation did not provide
openness in vote-counting, in that observers did not have the
right to attend the counting of ballot papers. Voronov added
that the provisions prohibiting people from standing in the
elections because administrative penalties had previous been
imposed on them, were still part of the electoral law. This
last factor may prevent Kazhegeldin from taking part in the
forthcoming elections as a candidate. Voronov reminded those
present that the leader of the RPPK was charged with contempt
of court last autumn.

At the same time, Voronov acknowledged that the republic's
present legislation, following a number of amendments, now
allowed people who had previously received administrative
penalties for participation in the activity of unregistered
public associations, to stand as a candidate in the elections.
Kazhegeldin had received this penalty as well.
Despite this, the party congress has taken a decision to
participate in the elections in single-mandate constituencies.

Speaking at a press conference, the chairman of the RPPK's
executive committee, Gaziz Aldamzharov, forecast that they
would field 21 candidates in single-mandate constituencies and
10 by party lists. The party is hoping to occupy at least six
or seven [seats in single-mandate constituencies] and two seats
[by party lists] in the future parliament. It should be noted,
Aldamzharov said, that it was decided that the RPPK's party
seats in the parliament would be taken by Kazhegeldin and the
well-known political scientist in the republic, Nurbulat
Masanov.

Voronov said that the RPPK intended to present the Central
Electoral Commission with the official application for
registration of its candidates early next week. He said that
the Central Electoral Commission should make a decision within
three days.

At present, the RPPK has its branches in 12 regions of the
republic and about 7,000 members.
[Passage to end omitted: elections to Kazakhstan's
bicameral parliament set for 17th September to the upper house,
and 10th October to the lower house.]

Source: Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency, Almaty, in Russian
0743 gmt 19 Aug 99
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