Kazakh Citizens Fined for Conducting Illegal Polling Ahead of Constitutional Referendum

Kazakhstan's Prosecutor General's Office has issued a stern warning on the legal rules governing public opinion polls ahead of a nationwide referendum, citing multiple violations and fines.

The agency clarified that all polling must strictly adhere to the Constitutional Law "On Elections." Only legal entities with at least five years of experience in the field are authorized to conduct surveys, and they must notify the Central Election Commission in advance, providing details on their specialists, regions of study, and analytical methods.

When publishing results, media and online platforms are legally required to disclose full details, including the polling organization, the client, the timing and methodology, the exact question wording, sample size, and the margin of error.

The law also enforces a "silence period," prohibiting the publication of poll results for the five days preceding the vote and on the referendum day itself. Conducting surveys inside polling stations on voting day is also banned.

To date, four violations have been established, including three instances of illegal public opinion polls related to the republican referendum and one case of publishing the results of such a poll without the required details.

Two violations involved polls conducted by private individuals, which is expressly forbidden. Another was committed by a legal entity that failed to notify the election commission. Two citizens and one organization have been held administratively liable under Article 120 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

The individuals were fined 15 Monthly Calculation Indexes (64,875 tenge) each, and the organization was fined 30 MCI (129,750 tenge). A separate penalty was imposed on the owner of a print publication that published poll results without the legally mandated details. The Prosecutor General's Office urged all participants to strictly obey the law ahead of the constitutional referendum scheduled for March 15.