MOSCOW, November 30 (RIA Novosti)-The December 4 presidential elections in Kazakhstan will be a serious step forward from the standpoint of acceptable international standards, the country's foreign minister said Wednesday.
"The presidential elections will be unique, because we are engaging in unprecedented proactive and positive cooperation with every interested international forces," Kasymzhomart Tokayev said.
The minister said the country was working with European institutions, as well as other member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the loose alliance that replaced the Soviet Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, as well as politicians.
Tokayev said: "[These] will be the best elections in the history of Kazakhstan in terms of openness, fairness and transparency."
He added that more than 1,000 monitors had been registered, including 450 representatives from Russia.
The minister ruled out any destabilization in the country, saying that there were no serious reasons, primarily socioeconomic ills, for this to happen.
"The government and president have conducted extensive work to resolve socioeconomic problems," Tokayev said. "The president is constantly working to do so. He has now set entirely new objectives for the economy."
Kazakhstan's election commission has registered five candidates in the elections. Incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been in power for the entirety of the Central Asian state's independence, is seen as the favorite.
