The Kazakh City of Janaozen is ready for parliamentary and local polls on January 15, despite the mass disorders of mid-December, spokesman of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) Kuandyk Turgankulov said, RIA Novosti reports.
Almost all documentation has been prepared and all polling stations are ready. Foreign and Kazakh monitors and media will operate without restrictions, Turgankulov said at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The Kazakh Constitutional Council banned parliamentary polls in Janaozen on January 6 due to mass disorders ongoing in the area since December 16. Local elections were due to be held after the state of emergency is lifted. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev vetoed the council’s decision.
Janaozen experienced mass disorders on December 16, resulting in 16 people killed and over 100 injured. Dozens of buildings and cars were burnt. Kazakh President Nursultant Nazarbayev imposed a state of emergency the next day. The state will last until January 31. Curfews are still in force, protests were prohibited, photography, video recording and copying were restricted.
The disorders were a result of a month-long strike of oil workers demanding higher wages. The court recognized their demands as unjust.
