The breach of journalists rights while covering the election: ignorance or legal nihilism

January 10 elections to the Majilis (lower chamber) of the Parliament and maslikhats (local representative body) proved that not all leaders and members of election commissions are aware of  the right of journalists to cover the voting process and respect it.

In Almaty, the chairman of the precinct election commission No. 173, Nurzhan Iskakov,  pushed Radio Azattyk correspondent Ayan Kalmurat out of the station under the pretext that the journalist did not have a PCR test certificate. Later, the chairman of the territorial election commission of Almaty, Zhanna Asanova, said that "there was a misunderstanding" between the journalist and the representative of the precinct election commission, who said that Ayan Kalmurat introduced himself as an observer. At the same time, in a video by an Azattyk reporter, Kalmurat can be heard repeating several times that he was a journalist and that there was no mandatory coronavirus test for media representatives covering the elections.

A representative of precinct election commission at polling station No 894 in the village Algamish in Almaty region, also demanded a PCR-test certificate  from  Azattyk reporter, citing a non-existent requirement of sanitary-epidemiological service.

Due to the lack of a PCR test for Covid-19, an Orda.kz reporter Saule Sadenova was not allowed to enter polling station No 379 in Almaty.  Only half an hour later, after numerous references to the rules, the journalist was allowed to start working.

A creative pretext to impede election coverage was invented at the polling station No. 446 in the village of Enbekshi, Almaty region. Azattyk reporter Asylkhan Mamashuly pointed out to the fact that some voters put more than three ballots into the ballot box (people in the regions voted for candidates  to the majilis, district maslikhat  and regional maslikhat). After that, the chairman of the election commission demanded that the reporter of Azattyk leave the polling station, saying that  Almaty region was in Covid-19 "yellow zone", so she can give the journalist only five minutes to work.

Chairman of the polling station No. 28 in  Aktobe Yerzhan Bakytbek banned Radio Azattyk reporter Zhanagul Zhursin to make photo and video of the members of the election commission. The regional election commission had to interfere to maked Zhanagul Zhursin be able to continue working.

Dilara Isa,  Azattyk reporter for Turkestan region, said that at polling station No. 79, someone who introduced himself as the deputy head of the Al-Farabi district police department tried to take away her mobile phone.

On the election day, the journalists of the "Uralsk Week" noticed that they were followed by police and made a video of the fact.

In Kostanay "Nasha Gazeta" reporter Georgy Govorov covered the elections at the polling station No. 1 for the whole day. In the evening he went out for coffee, and when he came back at 7.30 PM,  half an hour before the start of the vote count,  he was not allowed into the room. "Due to the fact that the number of seats for observers and authorized delegates is limited to six people, I ask you to leave the polling station," Bergen Kalakov, chairman of the precinct election commission,  told the journalist.

When the correspondent of" NG " refused to leave the polling station, the chairman of the commission called the police. He also said that the journalist insulted party observers  by not trusting their observation. Besides, Kalakov said that he would file a complaint to the police that Govorov allegedly called the commission's employees corrupt officials. Govorov insists that he did not say anything like that, and intends to report obstructing legal professional activities of a journalist to the police and to the regional election commission.

The above list of violations is far from complete, but they were typical for January 10 elections.

COMMENTARY OF " ADIL SOZ»:

We do not undertake to analyze what were the actions the leaders of election commissions: legal ignorance, legal nihilism or mere slyness. In any case, it is possible to state a violation of the legal professional rights of journalists and, as a result, a violation of the right of society to receive complete and comprehensive information about the election process.

Sure, no one could demand journalists to present a PCR test certificate, no law  or regulation demands that.

It was an obvious violation to prohibit journalists to make video and photo at polling stations.

A serious violation of rights was to push out a journalist from a polling station under pretext that it was crowed and it was impossible to keep social distance. The algorithm of actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, approved by the relevant Resolution, does not apply to journalists, since they are not participants in the electoral process, they just cover it.

The legal professional activity of a journalist is protected by Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and other laws ,including "On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan". It says:

•On the election day from the moment of opening of a polling station for voting and before establishing the results of a vote when counting votes, one agent from each candidate or political party that nominated a party list can be present simultaneously at a polling station, one representative from each media in the presence of a service certificate and editorial assignment  (article 20, paragraph 8).

Of course, it is hard to restore the violated right to cover the elections now, when  the elections are over. But it is possible to prove the fact of violation and to get  a fair punishment for the offenders -through the court, the prosecutor's office, higher election commissions including the Central Electoral Commission.