The irony of the decade has arrived: Kazakhstan is now the Chair of the OSCE.
The last time Kazakhstan held an election, the very same OSCE used words like “below international standards,” “lack of transparency,” and “restrictive legal provisions” to describe the process. Voters didn’t even have a chance to offer their say on 9 of the country’s 107 seats in parliament, since local governors used ESP and other ancient mysteries to determine the popular will then appoint the MPs directly.
Even better, the country that has never held an vote the OSCE could stomach will now lead the OSCE's own election mission to scrutinize Ukraine’s election later this month.
There are a lot of things to love about Kazakhstan, boiled horse lung for starters (it turns white when cooked to perfection), but Team Nazarbayev has clearly under-fulfilled the democracy plan.
The last time Kazakhstan held an election, the very same OSCE used words like “below international standards,” “lack of transparency,” and “restrictive legal provisions” to describe the process. Voters didn’t even have a chance to offer their say on 9 of the country’s 107 seats in parliament, since local governors used ESP and other ancient mysteries to determine the popular will then appoint the MPs directly.
Even better, the country that has never held an vote the OSCE could stomach will now lead the OSCE's own election mission to scrutinize Ukraine’s election later this month.
There are a lot of things to love about Kazakhstan, boiled horse lung for starters (it turns white when cooked to perfection), but Team Nazarbayev has clearly under-fulfilled the democracy plan.
/High-five Kazakhstan
(Photo credit: msykos)
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