Nurbek Sydygaliev, one of the deputies, explained that the proposed bill implies reducing the composition of the CEC from 12 to 7 members. Of these, three will be appointed by the president's quota, and four by the quota of the Jogorku Kenesh. He emphasized that these changes are aimed at optimizing the work of the state apparatus, improving coordination, enhancing the effectiveness of decisions made, and reducing budget expenditures. During the second reading, the deputies intend to clarify the number of CEC members, increasing it to 8, in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
The parliamentarian also cited Kazakhstan as an example, where there are only seven commission members for 20 million citizens. He noted that the bill was also initiated due to frequent quorum issues.
"It is quite difficult to gather a quorum, which negatively affects the work of the commission. Moreover, many members of the Central Election Commission participate in meetings remotely, which, in my opinion, is inappropriate. All participants should be present at the meetings in person," added Nurbek Sydygaliev.
Deputy Chair of the CEC Aydana Zhupeyeva agreed with the deputy's opinion, pointing out that the lack of quorum is indeed a problem. "During the pandemic, we allowed commission members to participate in meetings via videoconference, and some continue to vote in remote format," she noted.
As a result of the discussion, parliamentarians approved the bill in the first reading, agreeing that the optimal option would be to keep eight members in the Central Election Commission.
