The right to conduct pre-election campaigns

1. The state shall guarantee to its citizens and public associations the right to conduct unimpeded pre-election campaigns for or against any candidate or a political party in compliance with this Constitutional Act and other legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Citizens and the public associations which according to this Constitutional Act have not established any election funds shall be eligible to conduct a pre-election campaign which does not need any financing.

2. Since the completion of registration, which is established according to this Constitutional Act, and till the end of the campaign, the candidates and the political parties that have nominated their party lists shall be eligible to campaign their election program in the press and other mass media.

The candidates and political parties which have nominated their party lists shall be guaranteed equal access conditions to mass media to conduct their pre-election campaigns.

3. The state shall guarantee an equal allocation of funds to the candidates to come out with their programs in mass media. Each candidate shall be granted with funds for a fifteen minutes speech on TV, ten-minutes broadcasting by the radio as well as for publication of two articles in the press in the volume that does not exceed 0.1 of a printed sheet.

The political parties that have nominated their party lists shall be eligible to participate in the political debates on TV, organized by the Central Election Commission within the time limit fixed by the Central Election Commission.

Mass media shall provide time for broadcasting and the space to print for the registered candidates and political parties that have nominated their party lists on a contractual basis. The terms and conditions of the contract for the provision of broadcasting and the printed space in mass media to the candidates and political parties that have nominated the party lists should not create advantages in favor of a certain candidate and a political party. The data about the size of payment, conditions and order of granting of on-air broadcasting time and the printed area shall be declared and published by the corresponding organization of the TV-radio broadcasting, the editorial staff of the periodic press not later than on the tenth day after an official publication of the decision on appointment an election. The named information needs to be presented to the Central and oblast (regional) election commissions during Elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to other territorial as well as region election commissions during election of deputies of the Parliament, maslikhats and members of other local self-government bodies.

The consent for allocation of time for broadcasting and a printed area given by mass media to one of the candidates or a political party which has nominated its party list shall be considered as consent to allocate time for on-air broadcasting and a printed area to other candidates or political parties that have nominated their party lists.

The sequence of appearance of candidates and the political parties which have nominated their party lists in mass media shall be established in the course of reception of written applications or through casting lots if applications were received at one and the same time.

It shall be prohibited to interrupt and comment on speeches of the candidates on television and radio immediately after the speech as well as in press in the same issue.

4. Local executive bodies and local self-government bodies provide candidates on contractual basis space for meetings with voters. Terms for rent of premises shall be uniform and equal for all candidates.

Election commissions in cooperation with local executive bodies and with local selfgovernment bodies shall compile a schedule of meetings of candidates with voters in the premises and publish it in the mass media.

5. For publication of posters, leaflets, slogans and other printed campaign materials the corresponding election commissions shall allocate to the candidates an equal sum of money, except  for the candidates who stand for elections under party lists. All printed campaign materials shall contain data about the organization that published the given materials, place of their printing and circulation, about the persons who have placed the order, sources of funding to cover such expenses. It shall be prohibited to produce printed campaign materials outside the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan and to distribute anonymous campaign materials.

6. The local executive bodies jointly with the corresponding election commissions shall determine places for keeping printed campaign materials for all candidates and shall equip them with stands, boards and curbstones. The printed campaign materials shall be displayed on conditions that ensure equal rights for all candidates.

The candidates shall be eligible to hang out their printed campaign materials in other places with the consent of the owner of the corresponding premises or a facility.

Posting of any campaign materials on monuments, obelisks, buildings and the structures having historical, cultural or architectural value as well as at the polling stations shall be forbidden.

Information about candidates shall be placed in the premises of election commissions and polling station in a uniform format with a photo of the candidate and a standard form of the data established by the Central Election Commission.

Information on political parties, which have nominated party lists, shall be posted in the premises of the election commission and polling stations and shall comply with a standard form of data established by the Central Election Commission.

7. The candidates to President, deputies of the Parliament and maslikhat shall be eligible to cover all the expenses related to making statements in mass media, conduct of pre-election campaign, issuing of additional campaign materials as well as transport charges, travel and living expenses at the cost of their own election funds. Attraction for these purposes money from other sources, acceptance of any goods, works and services of physical persons and legal entities that are used by the candidate during the electoral campaign that have not been covered from the election funds of the candidate shall be forbidden. The candidate shall be forbidden to render any assistance to the indicated physical persons and legal entities for provision of the above named services.

The physical persons and legal entities rendering services to the candidate and the political party to conduct the pre-election campaign should obtain written consent of the candidates to adopt such services. The persons who do not have the aforementioned written consent shall bear responsibility according to the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

8. The periodic printing facilities of the Central and local executive bodies shall be obliged  to publish announcements of the election commissions, the data about the candidates taking part in elections in the order and volume to be determined by the Central Election Commission.

9. At publication of the results of the public-opinion polls related to elections, the mass media shall be obliged to name the organization that conducted such a poll, the persons who ordered the poll and paid for it, time of conduct of the poll, method of information collection, accurate wording of questions, the number of the interrogated persons and the factor of an error in the results of interrogation.

Within five days prior to Election Day and on Election Day publication of voting results, forecasts of the election results and other surveys associated with elections in the mass media shall be prohibited.

On the day of elections conduct of the poll in the premises of the polling station shall be forbidden.