Turkic Council hails elections in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

The Turkic Council on Monday in a statement congratulated Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan over their successful elections held on Jan. 10.

Secretary-General of the Turkic Council Baghdad Amreyev sent a congratulatory letter to Sadyr Japarov, who won Sunday's presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan, the council said in the statement.

Amreyev conveyed his sincere congratulations and best wishes of peace, prosperity, and unity to the people of Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan's former Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov won Sunday's presidential elections, according to unofficial results.

President of the Central Election Commission Nurjan Shaildabekova told reporters that Japarov secured around 79% of the votes, citing preliminary results.

The election in Kyrgyzstan was held Sunday to elect a new president as well as decide on the constitutional changes in formation of the government.

Elections in Kazakhstan

Upon the invitation of Kazakhstan, the council assigned the Turkic Council Mission to monitor the parliamentary elections in the country.

"Turkic Council International Election Observation Mission monitored the Elections of Deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and Maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan between 6 and 10 January 2021 in Nur-Sultan," it said in a separate statement.

The mission, headed by Omer Kocaman, the deputy secretary-general of the Council, monitored the elections by visiting 14 polling stations in the capital Nur Sultan. The council shared the assessment with national, international, and public media outlets.

The elections were successfully conducted in compliance with the national legislation and international standards, it said.

"Therefore, we congratulate the Republic of Kazakhstan and the brotherly Kazakh people, and wish that the results of the elections would further strengthen the prosperity of the country," it added.

The widespread coverage of the elections by media outlets contributed to the awareness-raising and transparency in the election process, it stressed.

Kazakhstan's ruling party won a landslide in the parliamentary elections held Sunday with over 70% of the votes, according to the country's election authority.

Nur Otan Party led by former President Nursultan Nazarbayev ranked first with 71%, while the Ak Zhol Democratic Party second with 10.95% and the People's Party of Kazakhstan ranked third with 9.10%.

The Auyl People's Democratic Patriotic Party received 5.29% of the vote, and the Adal party 3.57%.

The Turkic Council, or the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, was established in 2009 as an intergovernmental organization, with an overarching aim of promoting comprehensive cooperation among Turkic-speaking states.

The council consists of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan as member countries and Hungary as an observer state.