Kazakhstan was voting in a parliamentary election on Sunday that is set to reinforce President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s influence over Central Asia’s largest nation.
The pro-presidential Adilet party is projected to secure a significant majority. Several smaller parties, aligned with Tokayev, are also expected to gain parliamentary seats. This election marks the first for Kazakhstan’s newly formed single-chamber parliament, the Kurultai.
President Tokayev, aged 73, has served since 2019. He is a former Soviet official and Kazakh diplomat, with a prior career at the United Nations. The voting event follows a constitutional reform initiated in March, where 87% of voters supported a referendum to merge the parliamentary chambers. This change grants Tokayev powers to appoint essential officials, with parliamentary approval, including reviving the vice presidency.
Tokayev has maintained a balance between Moscow and the West amid sanctions placed on Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine. He has defended these changes as necessary for swift decision-making in an evolving global landscape.
In a recent development, Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court decided that amendments reset Tokayev’s previous term durations, allowing him to run for another seven-year term. Tokayev expressed optimism about the vote, calling it a “truly historic event.”
He remarked, “These elections will be remembered as perhaps the most interesting in our country’s history.” Tokayev emphasized the need to consistently pursue Kazakhstan’s strategy to become a genuinely developed nation amid geopolitical tensions and global challenges.
The election occurs during an economically challenging period for Kazakhstan, with inflation reaching 10.2% in February and tax hikes increasing public dissatisfaction. Analysts highlight that the economic pressures have made authorities cautious about potential unrest similar to the January 2022 fuel price protests, which escalated into violence, resulting in casualties.
Sustaining media freedom has become a contentious issue. Media organizations have urged Tokayev to lift criminal charges against journalists under house arrest, advocating for legislative revisions to ensure media freedom.
Authorities have initiated roughly ten criminal investigations against independent journalists and popular bloggers. Lukpan Akhmedyarov, an independent journalist behind the YouTube project “Prosto Zhurnalistika,” faces charges of “disseminating false information.” He is accused of sharing a list of Kazakhstan’s citizens fighting in Ukraine, facing a potential seven-year prison sentence.
Akhmedyarov described an intensified repression preceding the parliamentary elections, marked by cyberattacks and criminal cases against independent journalists and bloggers. “The authorities seem intent on silencing all media outlets not under their control, those they couldn’t negotiate with or acquire,” he stated. He noted the prominence of advertisements for the pro-presidential Adilet party in major cities.
Akhmedyarov speculated on the election’s outcome, suggesting it is foreseeable.