My name is Barlyk Mendygaziev,
I am the President of the Freedom Kazakhstan Human Rights Foundation based in the USA.
In my speech, I want to highlight the violation by Kazakhstan of the right of citizens to participate in political and public life, as well as the illegitimacy of the upcoming early elections.
On September 21, 2022, President of Kazakhstan Tokayevstated that he guarantees the fairness of the upcoming presidential elections, their openness and with the wide participation of domestic and international observers.
However, the essence of Tokayev's refo First, they are effectively depriving independent observers from civil society from observing the elections.
Therefore, we appeal to the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) to provide for meetings with civil society and record the obstacles to local independent observers from the regime in Kazakhstan.
Second, Tokayev's reforms created an impossible task for registering presidential candidates. The provisions of the new electoral law contradict themselves.
For example, the President announces the date of the early elections and they are held FOR 2 MONTHS. At the same time, the nomination of candidates ends 2 MONTHS before the Election Day. That is, the candidates do not even have one day to be nominated.
Kazakhstanis have been deprived of the right to nominate candidates and self-nominate for elections - this can only be done by public organizations with at least 9 branches throughout the country. But only government organizations have such conditions.
Well, to make sure that an independent candidate does not pass, Tokayev's reforms provide that the candidate must collect 120 thousand signatures across the country in just 9 DAYS!

Early elections and the promise of so-called reforms are yet another attempt by the Kazakh authorities to imitate their legitimacy and avoid personal sanctions. 
Therefore, we call on the governments of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) countries not to recognize the upcoming elections in Kazakhstan as legitimate. 
And also to support the recommendations of the European Parliament on conducting an independent investigation and applying personal sanctions to the highest officials of Kazakhstan for the introduction of the CSTO (collective security treaty organization) troops to suppress mass peaceful protests, the order to shoot civilians without warning, mass arrests and tortures in January 2022.

Thank you so much.