03/19/2023 21:20 (act. 03/19/2023 21:20)
Kazakhstan general election: President Tokayev’s casting vote ©APA/KAZAKHSTAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE
In Kazakhstan in Central Asia, early parliamentary elections took place without major incident. 54.19 percent of some 12 million eligible voters cast their ballots on Sunday in the former Soviet republic that borders Russia and China. As state TV reported, citing post-election polls, the ruling Amanat party was ahead with about 53 percent of the vote. Five to six parties – rather than three – are likely to enter parliament.
The announcement of the first official results was not expected until Monday. Authoritarian President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered new elections in response to last year’s bloody protests. Contrary to his reform pledges, critics accuse the 69-year-old of primarily wanting to consolidate his own power because almost no real opposition candidates have been admitted. Kazakhstan’s long-term ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev, who remains influential and whom Tokayev has increasingly weakened recently, also voted in the capital Astana.
For the first time, all 98 members of Kazakhstan’s lower house (maschilis) were directly elected by the people. International observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) hailed this as progress. However, they also referred to complaints from the Kazakh opposition and the lack of freedom of the press and expression in the oil-rich country of 19 million people.
In January 2022, protests against high prices and social injustice in Kazakhstan escalated into an unprecedented power struggle between national elites. Tokayev emerged victorious against the camp of his former adoptive father, Nazarbayev.
With the help of Russian troops, Kazakh security forces often acted extremely brutally against demonstrators on their orders. A total of over 200 people were killed.
In last November’s presidential elections, Tokayev was re-elected with more than 80% of the votes. Beforehand, he had announced a “New Kazakhstan” with democratic progress and economic reforms. However, there was criticism for a lack of competition in the election. Inequality and corruption in Central Asia’s largest country also persist, and inflation constrains the purchasing power of its nearly 20 million inhabitants. Critics also criticize the leadership’s authoritarian reflexes.