Pre-election debates among political parties ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election will take place throughout March, the Kazakh Central Election Commission (CEC) announced on Feb. 27. Sixty-three million tenge (US$141,158) will be allocated to organize the debates.
Both Khabar and the Qazaqstan TV channels were selected to air the debates, with the aim of targeting a wider audience. Qazaqstan TV will broadcast the debates in four rounds live on March 1 at 8.30 p.m. Astana time. Khabar TV will announce the time later.
Representatives of all seven parties will take part in the televised debates. Self-nominees who run for the election from single-mandate districts are also entitled to participate but should cover the debate-related costs themselves.
Nearly 12 million Kazakh citizens are eligible to cast their ballots in the elections for the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the Kazakh Parliament, and the maslikhats, local representative bodies, which will take place on March 19.
The total number of ballot papers for the election are tallied at 12,152,876 and are available in five different colors and in an easy-to-read A5 format, according to the CEC.
Source : The Astana Times
