The opposition Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement held its founding congress in Almaty on 21 February. Although only 180 delegates attended the congress, they reportedly represented an additional 1,267 people who submitted letters of proxy, making the total well over the 1,000 people required to validate a party\'s founding congress. The congress adopted a party program and a charter, both of which will be submitted with other registration documents to the Justice Ministry. The DVK, which was established in late 2002, has made several attempts to register as a public organization, but the ministry has consistently rejected its applications. (khabar.kz)