European Forum

Early parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan scheduled for January 15-16

Yesterday (November 16) the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev dissolved the lower house of parliament, Mazhilis, and scheduled early elections for January 15-16 (the parliamentary elections were supposed to be held in August 2012).

The presidential order followed a petition by parliament members asking the president to dissolve the legislative body and establish a multiparty representation system in hope of putting an end to the governing party's monopolistic grip on the legislature. Currently, the Mazhilis lower house is exclusively dominated by Nazarbayev's Nur Otan ruling party that controls every facet of life in Kazakhstan and is also expected to win an overwhelming election majority in the following elections. ‘The renewal of parliament is needed for the large-scale modernisation taking place in the country’, - said Nazarbayev.

On the first day of the upcoming elections, 98 members will be elected from party lists; and on the second day nine deputies will be chosen by the People's Assembly of Kazakhstan, a consultative body loyal to President Nazarbayev.

Amendments to the electoral law
The changes to the electoral law approved in 2009 will be implemented for the first time in the upcoming elections and will permit the second-placed party to enter the parliament even if it falls short of the 7 percent threshold. However, political analysts stress that such a party will likely be sympathetic to the ruling party which will actually make no difference, and no big alterations in the one-party system will be observed.

Parties to participate in polls
A couple of loyalist parties are expected to run in the elections. The second largest party in the country by membership, the Ak Zhol party, which represents businessmen and many of the county’s elite, is predicted to win several seats. The anti-Nazarbayev Alga! Party which was denied official registration several times and the Communist Party of Kazakhstan planned to unite forces in order to jointly contest the next parliamentary elections, but the latter was suspended for 6 months in October.

The one-party parliament of Kazakhstan has been a target of international criticism for a long time and the elections in the country have never been described by international monitors as free and fair.

Sources: The Guardian,  Reuters, RFE/RL Radio, Akorda.kz. Image: Flickr.