Snap Elections and Kazakhstani Democracy
December 13, 2011
Kazakhstan will hold snap parliamentary elections on January 15, 2012. Anthony Bowyer, IFES program manager for the Caucasus and Central Asia, tells us how this will affect the parties running in the election and what it really means for democracy in the country.
Elections,
Political Parties
Kazakhstan’s Predictable Election
April 01, 2011
On Sunday, April 3, Kazakhstan held a snap presidential election that was called after the country’s Constitutional Court ruled against a bid to bypass next year's presidential poll and hold a referendum to extend President Nursultan Nazarbayev's term until 2020.
Elections
Kazakhstan’s Referendum by Another Name
February 04, 2011
In January, the parliament of Kazakhstan approved holding a nationwide referendum to decide whether President Nursultan Nazarbayev's term in office should be extended for another decade. The referendum idea was started by a people’s "initiative group, which submitted a list of a reported 5 million-plus voter' signatures in favor of the move.
Elections
Kazakh Leader Comes Closer to becoming 'President for Life'
January 26, 2011
Fresh off completing its year as Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)'s 'Chair-In-Office', Kazakhstan’s two-chamber parliament recently approved a referendum for a general vote on changing the constitution to allow President Nazarbayev to serve another nine years. The referendum, which would cancel the next presidential election scheduled for 2012, was started by a forum of 900 people in the eastern city of Ust-Kamenogorsk.
Elections
Extending Presidential Rule in Kazakhstan: Uncertainty Amid the Certainty
January 26, 2011
On January 14, the parliament of Kazakhstan approved a “people’s initiative” authorizing a referendum to extend President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s term by another eight years. If passed, the referendum will cancel the 2012 presidential election and amend the country’s constitution to allow Nazarbayev — Kazakhstan’s only president since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 — to remain in power without even a symbolic challenge in the electoral arena.
Elections,
Governance
Anthony Bowyer Comments on the Changes to Kazakhstan's Election Law
January 15, 2009
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.
Civil Society,
Elections