April 30 2015, 12:41
Kazakhstan’s presidential election came with no surprises on April 26. After his 25-year rule, the Central Asian country’s incumbent leader Nursultan Nazarbayev won a fifth consecutive term, with a massive 97.7 percent of the vote. Passed this quarter-century, you probably knew that Nazarbayev was expected to continue governing Kazakhstan. But, Did you know?…
About the country:
- The Republic of Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, is the world’s ninth-biggest country.
- It is a presidential republic, with 14 territorial regions and two major cities-districts (Almaty, financial centre and Astana, political capital).
- The country has a bicameral Parliament, consisting of the lower house (Majilis) with 107 seats, and the upper house (Senate) with 47 members.
- Its economy is larger than those of all other Central Asian states, largely due to the oil, gas, and mining sectors, but it is currently struggling because of its oil-dependence.
- The Financial Times notes that Kazakhstan “is the world’s largest uranium producer and holds the world’s 12th-largest oil reserves.”
About the election’s statistics:
- An estimated 9.5 million Kazakhstani were eligible to cast ballots in over 9,000 polling stations in the country. Check some other electoral FAQ by IFES.
- A record turnout of 95.22 percent was registered in the election.
- The Central Electoral Commission (CEC), with 69,755 commission members of all levels, administered the vote, including candidate registration and maintenance of the voter list.
- Nearly 20,000 citizens were expected for out-of-country voting in 65 polling stations opened at diplomatic posts around the world.
- The last presidential election in Kazakhstan was on April 3, 2011. There were 9,200,000 registered voters, and Nazarbayev won 7,850,958 votes (95.55%).
About the re-elected government:
- Kazakhstani citizens went to the polls to vote -once more- for the head of state that has been in office since 1991, when the country gained independence from the Soviet Union.
- Constitutional amendments of May 2007 shortened the presidential term from seven to five years and established a two-consecutive-term limit.
- Nazarbayev, as the “First President of Kazakhstan”, is allowed unlimited terms in office (which applies only to him).
- President Nazarbayev announced in February that an early presidential election will be held in April, “to avoid an overlap with the parliamentary polls,” both scheduled for 2016.
- The 74-year-old president faces challenges such as falling oil prices, recession in Russia and the threat of Islamic extremism.
About the detractors:
- The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Europe criticized the election, noting that “voters had only limited choice due to a lack of genuine opposition and restrictions on freedom of expression.”
- Kazakhstan is rated by Freedom House as a “consolidated authoritarian regime” with a democracy score of 6.57 (on a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 being the worst).
- Opposition parties did not field a candidate. The only two other contenders, figures widely seen as pro-government, scored less than 3% between them.
- Nazarbayev’s victory over his two nominal rivals, a trade union official and a communist politician, has been seen as a formality. The BBC, The Guardian and The Diplomat reports supported this argument.
- Rights activists have expressed that the president’s colossal support is “the result of ignorance and propaganda” reinforced by suppressions on the press and the Internet.
Categories: Asia, Elections, In the news
Image by Kurious via Pixabay
