ASTANA, March 20. /TASS/. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Observer Mission recognizes the parliamentary elections held in Kazakhstan on March 19 as transparent and democratic, SCO Deputy Secretary General Grigory Logvinov said at a briefing on Monday.

"The Mission notes that the early elections of deputies to the Majilis and Maslikhats of the Republic of Kazakhstan met the requirements of Kazakhstan's national legislation and the country's international commitments. The Mission did not observe any violations of national legislation that call into question the legitimacy of the elections. The Mission recognizes the elections as transparent, credible and democratic," he said.

The early elections to the lower house of parliament of Kazakhstan were organised based on a mixed system: 70% of deputies were elected from party lists and 30% from single-mandate districts. According to three opinion polls released last night, the country's largest party, Amanat, leads the elections with more than 53%; only five or six of the seven parties registered in the country can pass the 5% threshold for getting into the lower chamber.