Official sees system in Asian country

By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Rokie Suleman III, Trumbull County deputy elections director, left the frying pan and got into the fire.
At the end of November, he left the United States during the late stages of a Trumbull County election -- in which disputes over votes dragged out the results for weeks.
He was heading to Kazakhstan to be an international observer, watching to see whether minimum democratic standards were being followed in a country in Central Asia where troubles were reported even before he got there.
"Though elections are different from country to country, the passion is the same," Suleman said of seeing elections up close on two continents. "Elections are still human events."
In Kazakhstan, a member of the main opposition group was shot to death in his villa overlooking Almaty before the election, and 50,000 copies of an opposition newspaper were seized by police because they allegedly contained an article that libeled the president, according to The New York Times.
What he found
By the end of his eight days in the country, the election was declared flawed, with ballot stuffing, harassment of campaign staff and intimidation of voters. But the elections were also declared to be the most progressive to date, allowing accurate voter registration lists and free media time for the opposition.
Suleman, who had also gone on a Red Cross mission this fall to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, said the trip was well worth the effort.
"People were eager to show off their election system," Suleman said after returning Thursday -- in time to certify Trumbull County's election results. "There was nearly 100 percent voter turnout. It's amazing the pride people had in going to the polls." Bands and dancer provided entertainment at some polling places.
"We consider ourselves the lead democracy and yet U.S. citizens take the right to vote for granted. They celebrate that right," he said of the people of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan, a country of 15 million people, gained its independence from the Soviet Union 16 years ago. It is Central Asia's largest country and its most prosperous and stable nation. It is a Muslim-majority country that practices religious tolerance and free-market principles, according to The Christian Science Monitor.
Some conclusions
Suleman said parliamentary elections were held two years ago. This one was held only to determine who would be president. A paper ballot contained the names of five candidates; voters placed an "X" beside their favorite. Incumbent Nursultan Nazarbayev won by 91 percent.
Though Suleman says he can't talk about what he witnessed as an observer for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, he agrees the election process there still needs some improvement -- even in the rural village where he was stationed with a German observer and a driver and translator.
His time there -- his first time as an international observer -- was taken up with meetings before the Dec. 4 election, time at polling places in and around a village called Batamcha, and more meetings and report writing afterward.
Batamcha, in the northwest part of the country, is very rural and poor, and accommodations were sparse, he said. "I didn't get many showers while I was there," he noted. The flight to the country took 26 hours, including time in airports.
Nonetheless, he called it a "great time and a tremendous experience." He said the organization expects to invite him to be an observer again once per year and especially appreciates his background in elections.
runyan@vindy.com