THE GENERAL election in Kazakhstan has been overshadowed by a rare bout of public unrest and denounced by government critics as a sham, although allies of veteran president Nursultan Nazarbayev claimed it would strengthen democracy in the oil-rich central Asia state.
Mr Nazarbayev’s Nur Otan party was expected to take some 80 per cent of votes in yesterday’s ballot, but for the first time, the second-placed party was guaranteed representation in parliament. The parliament has acted as a mere rubber-stamp for policies proposed by the president.
A new election law states the runner-up in the election will secure two places in the 107-seat parliament, even it fails to pass the 7 per cent threshold for representation in the assembly.
Those hoping for unprecedented debate in the next Kazakh parliament are likely to be disappointed, however, given that the most likely runner-up is a state-guided pro-business party loyal to Mr Nazarbayev.
Leading figures in opposition groups were barred from running in the ballot, which was likely to produce results that echoed a presidential election last year that saw Mr Nazarbayev (71) returned to office with 95 per cent support.
“This is a great test for us, we have more than 1,000 observers here from around the world,” Mr Nazarbayev said after casting his vote. “I am sure that the people of Kazakhstan will make the right choice for their future, for our development, and a peaceful life in our common home.”
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which is chaired by Ireland this year, has a monitoring team in Kazakhstan and will deliver its report today. The OSCE has never deemed a Kazakh election to be free and fair.
Kazakhstan is a major oil and gas exporter and lies on a key route the US uses to supply its forces in Afghanistan, making the country’s stability a priority for neighbouring Russia, the US and the European Union.
Many Kazakhs also see Mr Nazarbayev and his party as guarantors of peace and security in a troubled region. However the prevailing calm in Kazakhstan was shattered in recent months by a spate of bomb and gun attacks by a previously unknown Islamist militant group and by deadly riots in the oil town of Zhanaozen.
The country, with a population of 16.7 million, saw its worst violence in 20 years last month when striking oil workers, who had been sacked by their company, rioted on Independence Day. In clashes with security services which followed in Zhanaozen, 16 people were killed. The town voted under a state of emergency yesterday.
“One right is supposed to be free and undisturbed – the right to elect,” said Miklos Haraszti, head of the OSCE’s election monitoring mission. “This situation needs special focus.”
