Kazakhstan's Pro-Govt party sweeps vote, boosts Tokayev's power

Kazakhstan's pro-government Adilet Party won a landslide victory in a parliamentary election, officials announced Monday, August 24, a result expected to further strengthen President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's grip on power in Central Asia's largest nation.

Adilet, led by the former head of Tokayev's presidential administration, secured 71% of Sunday's vote, according to preliminary results announced by Kazakhstan's central electoral commission.

The second-place Auyl Party won 6.26% of the vote, while three other parties the Nationwide Social Democratic Party, Respublica and Aq Jol cleared the 5% threshold needed to win seats in parliament, the commission said.

Election monitors for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the vote was marred by a lack of distinct political opposition, noting that all contesting parties backed the incumbent president's policies.

About 74% of the country's 12.6 million eligible voters took part in the election, the central electoral commission said. It was the first vote held for Kazakhstan's new single-chamber parliament.

The new body, known as the Kurultai, is the culmination of a constitutional overhaul initiated by Tokayev in March, when 87% of voters backed a referendum to merge the two chambers of parliament, according to the report. The vote also granted the president authority to appoint key officials, subject to approval by lawmakers.

Last month, Kazakhstan's Constitutional Court ruled that the amendments effectively reset the clock on Tokayev's previous terms in office, clearing the way for him to seek another seven-year term when his current mandate expires in 2029.

The ruling echoes similar moves in several former Soviet republics, including Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, where leaders have used new or amended constitutions to revise statutory term limits.

Tokayev, 73, a former Soviet official and Kazakh diplomat who previously worked at the United Nations, has been in office since 2019. He has sought to maintain a balance between Moscow and the West since sanctions were imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine, and has justified the constitutional changes by citing the need for rapid decision-making in a fast-changing world.

The election comes at a difficult economic moment for Kazakhstan, where inflation hit 10.2% in February and tax increases have fuelled public discontent, according to the report.

Analysts say the economic strain has made authorities wary of a repeat of the unrest of January 2022, when fuel price protests spiralled into violence that left dozens of protesters and police officers dead a scenario Tokayev is seeking to guard against by concentrating power in his own hands.

The vote also took place against a backdrop of intensifying crackdowns on press freedom. Media organisations have urged Tokayev to drop criminal charges against several journalists under house arrest and to revise legislation to ensure freedom of speech.

Authorities have opened roughly 10 criminal cases against independent journalists and popular bloggers, according to the report.

(Sourced through PTI)