ASTANA, Kazakhstan -- November 18, 1998. President Nursultan Nazarbayev formally communicated with the Supreme Court with a request to reconsider the lower court decisions preventing A. Asylbek and A. Kazhegeldin from registering as Presidential candidates.
The Press Service issued the following explanation:
- In accordance with existing law, a citizen who registers for candidacy to any directly elected governmental post (presidency, parliament, maslikhats and local self-administering entities) must not have been convicted of violating any law. Because of this law, the participation of citizens Asylbek and Kazhegeldin in the upcoming Presidential election has not been and will not be resolved until a decision is reached by the Supreme Court.
- The President is requesting the Supreme Court to reconsider this case because of his commitment to the liberalization of society as embodied in the democratization program he outlined in his Address to the People on September 30th.
- The President is interested, above all, in the upcoming elections being held on an open and competitive basis and being free and fair.
- Concerning the situation with Kazhegeldin and Asylbek, the President earlier expressed his interest in not converting this legal problem into a political one and his commitment to resolving this issue by legal means.
- While the President is a firm supporter of the independence of the judiciary and the principle of non-interference, as Head of State and guarantor of the rights and freedoms as provided by the Constitution, he is concerned with the court decisions which deny these citizens the ability to participate in the forthcoming election campaign.
