Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev votes in Astana on November 20, 2022. MUHTOR HOLDORBEKOV v AP
Kazakhstan will vote in snap presidential elections on Sunday, November 20, which should allow outgoing leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to consolidate his power after a dark year marked by bloody unrest and ruthless clan fighting. Polling stations in Central Asia’s largest country opened at 2am (Paris time) to nearly 12 million voters and will close at 4pm, while the first exit polls are expected around 6pm.
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Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic rich in natural resources and situated at the crossroads of important trade routes, fell into chaos in January when protests over high prices escalated into riots before being brutally cracked down and killing 238 people. The country remains traumatized by the crisis, and in a sign of ongoing tensions, authorities announced on Thursday that they had arrested seven supporters of an opponent in exile accused of plotting a “coup d’état”.
Unsurprisingly, Mr Tokaev, who voted early in the capital Astana, is being reappointed for the next seven years. He faces five almost unknown candidates. Whether he will collect more than 71 percent of the vote like in 2019 remains to be seen, a clear result but a far cry from the 98 percent achieved by his predecessor Noursultan Nazarbayev in 2015.
Criticism of OSCE observers
This election aims to mark the end of a difficult year, but also to consecrate the rule of President Tokayev, 69, who has been trying for months to lessen the grip of the clan in power of his powerful predecessor and mentor, Nursultan Nazarbayev three decades. Mr Tokayev, who came to power in 2019 following the surprise resignation of the all-powerful Nazarbayev, officially pledged to cut the umbilical cord in favor of the January crisis after long being seen as his predecessor’s henchman.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which shocked the former Soviet republics, Mr Tokayev has tried to strengthen ties with China, but also with Europe, to offset Russian influence. In recent months he has received visits from Russian, Turkish and Chinese heads of state, as well as high-ranking European officials and even Pope Francis.
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In a report, international election observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) regretted that their recommendations “regarding fundamental freedoms and the conditions for the eligibility and registration of candidates” had “remained unheeded”. In Astana and Almaty, the country’s two largest cities, Agence France-Presse saw several voters taking photos of themselves outside polling stations, with many voters citing the “duty” to show the photo at their workplace.