Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has congratulated Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on winning Sunday's presidential election. She urged Nazarbayev to take the comments of the OSCE mission into account.
Kazakhstan held early elections on April 3. The Central Electoral Commission of Kazakhstan declared that Nazarbayev received 95.5% of the vote.
The OSCE mission said that the elections were not held appropriately. The organization noted state pressure for high voter turnout and poor competition. Other observers gave positive ratings to the polls.
Ashton said that changes need to be made before the parliamentary elections in 2012, in oreder to meet international standards.
The high representative also urged the Kazakh authorities to activate efforts towards fulfilling democratic principles and practicing human rights.
