Anthony Bowyer, program manager for the Caucasus & Central Asia, comments:

"Kazakhstan has kicked off its Chair-in-Office duties of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with two powerful speeches, the first by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, speaking on videotape from Astana, and the second delivered in person in Vienna by Minister of Foreign Affairs Kanat Saudabayev. Both speeches ascribed to Kazakhstan’s oft-stated positions, with commitments to security and tolerance (for each of which concrete action was proposed) followed by the usual references to human rights and democracy.

“In just under 25 minutes of combined speaking, the words ‘democracy’ and ‘elections’ were mentioned by both men less than ten times in total. References were made to Kazakhstan’s ‘dynamically developing democratic state’ and building of a democratic society as a ‘conscious choice’ of Kazakhstan’s people, with promises first by Nazarbayev to ‘pursue further political liberalization of our county’ and by Saudabayev that ‘further steps in the areas of democratization of Kazakhstan will be fully in line with the goals and tasks that we have set ourselves during our Chairmanship.’

“While the initial speeches may have missed the chance to outline not only how Kazakhstan will promote democratization in the OSCE region or support vigorous electoral accountability among member states, not the least of which being Kazakhstan itself, the country still has an opportunity to exercise leadership in this regard in the new year. Fifteen member states will be holding national elections in 2010, with the first two of those in Kazakhstan’s immediate neighborhood: Ukraine and Tajikistan. Kazakhstan can use its authority and influence, and by doing so demonstrate its commitment to the OSCE mandate of open and fair elections, by working hard to insist that the processes in these two counties are transparent and the results respected. There is a particular opportunity in Tajikistan, where the government is hesitant to allow opposition parties to fully participate in the election process. Kazakhstan can at once serve its stated goals of promoting tolerance, equal rights and rule of law in its fellow Central Asian and OSCE member state, at the same time demonstrate the authenticity of its intent, by reminding the Government of Tajikistan to abide by its international commitments. It can also contribute to conflict resolution and religious tolerance by explicitly demanding an equal playing field for the Islamic Revival Party.

“The year ahead offers immediate proof of Kazakhstan’s actual intentions versus its stated words in leading the OSCE, and there may not be long to wait to judge how genuine the statements today by President Nazarbayev and Foreign Minister Saudabayev can be regarded, particularly as a portend of the year to come.”