Kazakhstan's parliamentary election failed to meet international standards due to a lack of transparency during the vote count.
But the monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe also said Saturday's vote, which handed every available seat in parliament to President Nursultan Nazarbayev's party, was a step forward.
Kazakhstan, an oil producer ruled by President Nazarbayev since 1989, has never held a vote judged free and fair.
The OSCE, a 56-member group that includes Russia and western countries, has come under scrutiny from Moscow over its election monitoring in the former Soviet bloc, where Russia has accused it of being overly critical.
The monitors said they made negative assessments of the vote count in 40% of polling stations visited.
They noted that state media and authorities gave favourable treatment to President Nazarbayev's Nur Otan party and that measures such as the 7% threshold to enter parliament stood in the way of developing a pluralistic political party system.
But the observers also said the vote was conducted in a calm atmosphere and candidates had been given more opportunities to convey their message to voters.
