While the move adopted by the Majilis is a step forward, there needs to be a recognition that a vibrant political system with an active opposition is in Kazakhstan’s best interest. This is true not only to meet the qualifications required by its impending Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Chair-in-Office duties in 2010, but also to genuinely promote dialogue among the many competing voices in Kazakhstan and give greater opportunities for representation of those voices at the highest levels of government.

With this new law, political parties outside of the pro-presidential super party Nur Otan remain exceptionally weak. Although the next scheduled parliamentary elections are not until 2012, opposition political parties have a long way to go in order to be competitive under any circumstances. It is still unclear how exactly the seats would be allocated to a party winning the second-highest amount of votes (though less than the 7% threshold) under the new rules, such as how many deputies would be seated or what would happen in the case of a bloc of parties finishing second.

Lowering the threshold from 7% to a lower number in the present system of proportional representation would also be a welcome move, though in itself it is not a panacea for creating a functional multi-party democracy. Political parties, and especially those in the opposition, need to genuinely be able to conduct their activities openly and increase their base of support in order to be competitive. After the election law changes of 2007 they had but several weeks to prepare for early parliamentary elections, which predictably resulted in a clean sweep of all 98 Majilis seats by Nur Otan. They must have equal access to the media, equal rights for conducting their pre-election activities, and first and foremost be given sufficient opportunity to register candidates. The reduction in the amount of signatures required is also a necessary move in that regard.

Anthony Bowyer is program manager for the Caucasus & Central Asia.