Communication
2914-3040-3051
Submission: 2016.10.06
View Adopted: 2023.10.20
The authors of the combined communications are three nationals of Kazakhstan. The State party held local elections and all authors submitted applications for candidacy. The authors were later disqualified for submitting false information in their income declarations. All three authors contested the disqualifications, but the court denied the claims. Their subsequent appeals were rejected or dismissed. The authors allege the disqualifications led to violations of their right to take part in conduct of public affairs and to be elected under article 25. They also allege that they were disqualified based on their political views which violated their rights under article 26 prohibiting discrimination.
The Committee noted that the authors did not raise the issue of discrimination based on their political views in their complaints before the domestic authorities, and the claims brought pursuant to article 26 of the Covenant are inadmissible for failure to exhaust domestic remedies. The article 25 claim was admissible.
The Committee noted that the financial discrepancies used to disqualify the authors from running for office were small and were caused by incorrect statements from bank and pension funds. It also noted that the authors were not allowed to correct their income declarations after the discrepancies were identified. The Committee concluded that the decisions to disqualify the authors on this basis coupled with the lack of access to an effective judicial review incorporated unfair procedures and led to an unreasonable restriction of the authors’ rights under article 25 of the Covenant.
The State party should provide the authors with adequate compensation. The State party is also under an obligation to take steps to prevent similar violations from occurring in the future, including by ensuring that election regulations and their application are consistent with article 25 of the Covenant.
Deadline for implementation: 17 April 2024
