Elections in Kazakhstan

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Ballot boxes, Kazakh flag and state seal in an Astana polling place before the 2007 legislative elections.

Elections in Kazakhstan are held on a national level to elect a President and the Parliament, which is divided into two bodies, the Majilis (Lower House) and the Senate (Upper House). Local elections for maslihats (local representative bodies) are held every five years.[1]

Elections are administered by the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

There are 7 legal political parties in Kazakhstan.[2] Kazakhstan’s political opposition is the most developed in the region in terms of its organizational abilities and resources.[3][need quotation to verify]

None of the elections held in Kazakhstan have been considered free or fair by Western countries or international observers[4] with issues noted including ballot tampering,[5][6] multiple voting,[6] repression of opposition candidates[7] and press censorship.[8] However, robust reforms have been implemented since 2019 and the OSCE ODI stated in its post-2021 parliamentary election report that "candidates were able to campaign freely."[9] The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has deployed election monitors to Kazakhstan at the invitation of the government for observation of parliamentary and presidential elections since 1999.[10]

Latest elections

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Presidential

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Main article: 2022 Kazakh presidential election

In a follow-up to the announcement of the exit polls, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced that it would present preliminary results of the election in a subsequent briefing on 21 November 2022 at 11:00.[11] From there, the preliminary results showed Tokayev winning an overwhelming 81.3% majority of the vote, a higher margin in comparison to 2019, followed by Dairabaev who had garnered only 3.4%, thus making him the second-place frontrunner in the race and the first candidate to receive less than 5% of the vote since Turgyn Syzdyqov in 2015.[12][13] The overall voter turnout had reached 69.4%, the lowest number of any in the presidential elections of Kazakhstan.[12] For the first time since 1999, the ballot column "Against all" was reincluded in the election, to which 5.8% of Kazakh voters had cast their votes, making it the second overall most picked ballot column.[14]

The following day the CEC confirmed the final results of the election by approving the voting protocols and certifying Tokayev's reelection win,[15][16] who essentially became the president-elect.[17][18]

CandidatePartyVotes%
Kassym-Jomart TokayevPeople's Coalition (Ind.)6,456,39281.31
Jiguli DairabaevAuyl People's Democratic Patriotic Party (Ind.)271,6413.42
Qaraqat ÄbdenNational Alliance of Professional Social Workers (Amanat)206,2062.60
Meiram Qajyken"Amanat" Commonwealth of Trade Unions (Ind.)200,9072.53
Nurlan ÄuesbaevNationwide Social Democratic Party176,1162.22
Saltanat TursynbekovaQazaq analary – dästürge jol (Amanat)168,7312.12
Against all460,4845.80
Total7,940,477100.00
Valid votes7,940,47795.67
Invalid/blank votes359,5694.33
Total votes8,300,046100.00
Registered voters/turnout11,953,46569.44
Source: CEC

Results by region

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Results by region[19]
Region Tokayev Dairabaev Äbden Qajyken Äuesbaev Tursynbekova Against all
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
Abai Region 259,339 86.62% 9,173 3.06% 7,746 2.59% 6,039 2.02% 5,871 1.96% 4,103 1.37% 7,129 2.38%
Aqmola Region 318,652 79.75% 11,624 2.91% 6,194 1.55% 8,899 2.23% 10,820 2.71% 10,800 2.70% 32,575 8.15%
Aqtöbe Region 331,041 84.32% 18,908 4.82% 8,536 2.17% 4,125 1.05% 9,517 2.42% 9,312 2.37% 11,145 2.84%
Almaty Region 514,145 79.13% 25,987 4.00% 17,713 2.73% 27,535 4.24% 23,019 3.54% 13,980 2.15% 27,336 4.21%
Atyrau Region 211,720 78.23% 7,165 2.65% 8,624 3.19% 5,676 2.10% 5,312 1.96% 6,955 2.57% 25,194 9.31%
West Kazakhstan Region 239,148 82.07% 11,087 3.80% 8,611 2.95% 13,251 4.55% 3,726 1.28% 6,575 2.26% 9,009 3.09%
Jambyl Region 488,693 86.07% 12,353 2.18% 12,979 2.29% 16,524 2.91% 9,856 1.74% 10,781 1.90% 16,573 2.92%
Jetisu Region 298,311 84.15% 12,232 3.45% 8,961 2.53% 7,257 2.05% 10,666 3.01% 7,570 2.14% 9,487 2.68%
Qarağandy Region 476,971 80.04% 14,949 2.15% 18,747 3.15% 15,552 2.61% 12,082 2.03% 11,141 1.87% 46,472 7.80%
Qostanai Region 345,316 82.21% 12,961 3.09% 5,409 1.29% 6,156 1.47% 9,366 2.23% 9,192 2.19% 31,616 7.53%
Qyzylorda Region 289,699 76.89% 19,953 5.30% 10,651 2.83% 7,245 1.92% 7,871 2.09% 8,915 2.37% 32,424 8.61%
Mangystau Region 189,753 76.15% 14,231 5.71% 7,306 2.93% 2,679 1.08% 3,672 1.47% 5,803 2.33% 25,739 10.33%
Pavlodar Region 291,807 78.51% 10,722 2.88% 7,017 1.89% 14,136 3.80% 7,982 2.15% 9,911 2.67% 30,128 8.11%
North Kazakhstan Region 231,223 80.52% 6,727 2.34% 3,380 1.18% 8,961 3.12% 5,086 1.77% 5,409 1.88% 26,384 9.19%
Türkistan Region 800,353 86.63% 28,314 3.06% 32,129 3.48% 17,964 1.94% 13,152 1.42% 8,313 0.90% 23,655 2.56%
Ulytau Region 87,899 84.78% 2,985 2.88% 2,571 2.48% 1,445 1.39% 1,572 1.52% 1,902 1.83% 5,300 5.11%
East Kazakhstan Region 290,329 77.71% 12,810 3.43% 9,913 2.65% 11,019 2.95% 9,676 2.59% 10,849 2.90% 29,027 7.77%
Astana 288,093 80.31% 13,516 3.77% 9,017 2.51% 10,850 3.02% 7,109 1.98% 10,404 2.90% 19,716 5.50%
Almaty 196,178 67.31% 13,959 4.79% 10,375 3.56% 6,243 2.14% 11,902 4.08% 10,945 3.76% 41,874 14.37%
Shymkent 307,722 84.81% 11,985 3.30% 10,327 2.85% 9,351 2.58% 7,859 2.17% 5,871 1.62% 9,701 2.67%
Kazakhstan 6,456,392 81.31% 271,641 3.42% 206,206 2.60% 200,907 2.53% 176,116 2.22% 168,731 2.12% 460,484 5.80%

Voter turnout

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Turnout was low in the two largest cities, with less than 30% of voters from Almaty participating, and less than half of voters from Astana participating. Turnout was higher elsewhere, ranging from almost 60% in Shymkent to over 81% in the newly formed Jetisu Region.[20]

Region Time
10:00[21] 12:00[22] 14:00[23] 16:00[24] 18:00[25] 20:00[26] 22:00[27]
Abai Region 25.64% 43.67% 69.32% 73.57% 78.88% 80.18% 80.18%
Akmola Region 21.21% 40.13% 51.04% 71.38% 75.82% 78.87% 78.87%
Aktobe Region 26.66% 44.48% 53.21% 68.81% 71.23% 72.20% 72.81%
Almaty Region 20.12% 25.83% 40.85% 55.11% 70.92% 72.10% 72.10%
Atyrau Region 25.03% 40.42% 52.56% 60.87% 67.88% 70.87% 70.87%
West Kazakhstan Region 20.86% 27.55% 43.85% 54.62% 64.77% 67.77% 68.67%
Jambyl Region 23.27% 41.29% 52.74% 68.74% 77.27% 79.57% 79.57%
Jetisu Region 25.58% 42.18% 52.17% 68.88% 77.08% 81.43% 81.42%
Karaganda Region 32.27% 44.99% 53.75% 71.89% 77.80% 78.39% 78.39%
Kostanay Region 26.97% 42.87% 53.15% 71.38% 77.56% 79.28% 79.28%
Kyzylorda Region 29.41% 43.46% 59.18% 72.88% 77.20% 80.31% 81.07%
Mangystau Region 25.20% 41.19% 53.40% 59.61% 64.57% 66.18% 66.99%
Pavlodar Region 27.90% 44.23% 52.55% 72.73% 77.12% 77.58% 77.58%
North Kazakhstan Region 27.33% 43.64% 53.10% 72.21% 77.46% 78.24% 79.01%
Turkistan Region 27.03% 64.21% 76.61% 80.09% 80.25% 80.37% 80.37%
Ulytau Region 27.81% 52.22% 68.32% 72.75% 74.45% 75.48% 75.48%
East Kazakhstan Region 23.17% 41.86% 52.99% 68.42% 76.81% 79.49% 79.49%
Astana 13.73% 19.33% 39.79% 44.39% 48.01% 48.67% 48.60%
Almaty 8.42% 16.89% 24.17% 26.19% 27.93% 28.72% 28.72%
Shymkent 30.92% 34.41% 51.69% 56.28% 59.56% 59.79% 59.79%
Kazakhstan 23.37% 38.55% 51.16% 62.34% 67.85% 69.31% 69.43%

Mäjilis

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Main article: 2023 Kazakh legislative election

In the early morning of 20 March 2023, the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced the preliminary election results summed up from electronic copies of the voting result protocols by the territorial and district election commissions.[28] From there, the ruling Amanat party had officially won majority of 53.9% of the proportional vote share, marking it one of the worst performances for the party since the 1999 legislative election.[29] In the constituencies, the preliminary results showed the Amanat party winning an overwhelming majority of 22 seats (+1 independent candidate affiliated with the party) out of a total of 29 contested seats, leaving the rest of seven mandates to be won by independents in their representing electoral districts.[30][31][32]

The final results of the 2023 legislative election were published by the CEC on 27 March 2023, revealing the upcoming seating composition of the 8th Majilis according to party-list, with the ruling Amanat party winning 40 seats, followed by Auyl with 8 seats, Respublica and Aq Jol with 6 seats each, the People's Party of Kazakhstan (QHP) with 5 seats, and the self-declared opposition Nationwide Social Democratic Party (JSDP) secured 4 seats, while Baytaq failed to surpass the 5% electoral threshold.[33][34]

PartyParty-listConstituencyTotal
seats		+/–
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Amanat3,431,51053.90402,886,46845.672262–14
Auyl People's Democratic Patriotic Party693,93810.90879,0451.2508+8
Respublica547,1548.5969,4970.1506New
Aq Jol535,1398.416121,0691.9206–6
People's Party of Kazakhstan432,9206.80587,8031.3905–5
Nationwide Social Democratic Party331,0585.20431,7020.5004New
Baytaq Green Party of Kazakhstan146,4312.30017,1660.2700New
Russian Community of Kazakhstan7,9570.1300New
Veterans of the GSFG and Group of Warsaw Pact Forces5,0430.0800New
Astana City Veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict3,5850.0600New
Federation of Kazakhstani Motorists1,5690.0200New
Independents2,820,81044.6377New
Against all248,2913.90–248,2833.93–––
Total6,366,441100.00696,319,997100.002998–9
Valid votes6,366,44197.586,319,99799.06
Invalid/blank votes158,0462.4260,2270.94
Total votes6,524,487100.006,380,224100.00
Registered voters/turnout12,035,57854.2112,023,56253.06
Source: CEC CEC Nomad.su

Voter turnout

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Region Time
10:00[35] 12:00[36] 14:00[37] 16:00[38] 18:00[39] 20:00[40] 22:00[41]
Kazakhstan 1,710,381 (14.21%) 3,687,608 (30.65%) 5,635,462 (46.84%) 6,254,837 (51.98%) 6,390,046 (53.11%) 6,509,695 (54.09%) 6,521,860 (54.19%)
Abai Region 15.13% 33.58% 52.28% 55.23% 56.14% 57.02% 57.02%
Akmola Region 15.61% 33.63% 52.12% 58.96% 59.49% 60.01% 60.01%
Aktobe Region 12.44% 33.18% 51.28% 56.32% 56.88% 57.45% 58.00%
Almaty Region 15.32% 34.41% 52.13% 59.45% 59.74% 60.03% 60.03%
Atyrau Region 12.94% 30.66% 36.15% 48.15% 49.19% 50.22% 51.23%
West Kazakhstan Region 12.96% 33.61% 55.14% 58.61% 58.81% 59.01% 59.20%
Jambyl Region 16.54% 35.82% 58.32% 64.78% 65.00% 65.21% 65.21%
Jetisu Region 15.93% 33.15% 52.41% 54.82% 55.07% 55.32% 55.32%
Karaganda Region 16.31% 34.19% 56.97% 58.21% 58.85% 59.48% 59.48%
Kostanay Region 16.23% 37.39% 62.36% 64.81% 65.00% 65.10% 65.10%
Kyzylorda Region 12.64% 32.78% 54.31% 64.95% 65.70% 66.46% 67.21%
Mangystau Region 12.36% 32.43% 49.18% 53.84% 54.04% 54.08% 54.10%
Pavlodar Region 16.49% 34.26% 51.24% 58.43% 58.61% 58.68% 58.68%
North Kazakhstan Region 15.93% 32.81% 49.68% 63.66% 64.46% 65.25% 65.25%
Turkistan Region 15.62% 38.29% 48.37% 49.14% 51.07% 53.01% 53.01%
Ulytau Region 16.38% 34.61% 52.29% 58.26% 58.63% 58.99% 58.99%
East Kazakhstan Region 16.11% 34.16% 58.69% 63.09% 63.63% 64.15% 64.15%
Astana 13.58% 23.35% 33.65% 38.57% 40.94% 42.91% 42.91%
Almaty 8.51% 11.25% 15.38% 19.14% 22.95% 25.82% 25.82%
Shymkent 12.57% 19.63% 35.61% 42.31% 43.89% 45.46% 45.46%

Results by region

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Constituency vote

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Results by constituency[42][43]
Constituency Elected deputy Runner-up
Region No. Total
seats 		Candidate Party Votes %
Astana 1 2 Däulet Turlyhanov Amanat 71,698 47.03% Täñirbergen Berdoñğarov, Independent
11.20% (17,079 votes)
2 Däulet Muqaev Independent 51,769 29.51% Arman Şoraev, Independent
18.05% (31,669 votes)
Almaty 3 3 Ermurat Bapi Independent 23,690 27.93% Inga Imanbai, Independent (QDP)
8.01% (6,798 votes)
4 Erlan Stambekov Independent 15,930 20.66% Sanjar Boqaev, Independent (Namys)
15.12% (11,660 votes)
5 Baqytjan Bazarbek Independent (Amanat) 22,685 21.59% Muhtar Taijan, Independent (Jer Qorgany)
12.26% (12,882 votes)
Shymkent 6 2 Danabek Isabekov Amanat 21,098 36.80% Ğalymjan Äbişev, Independent
14.70% (8,430 votes)
7 Bolatbek Najmetdinuly Amanat 19,851 21.06% Abai Praliev, Independent
18.37% (17,319 votes)
Abai Region 8 1 Nurtai Sabilianov Amanat 131,872 58.02% Ashat Januzaqov, Independent
12.69% (28,841 votes)
Akmola Region 9 1 Aina Mysyrälimova Amanat 154,587 50.72% Arman Berdalin, Independent
13.68% (41,708 votes)
Aktobe Region 10 1 Qazybek Älişev Amanat 238,195 74.51% Tättigül Talaeva, Independent
5.42% (17,326 votes)
Almaty Region 11 2 Ardaq Nazarov Independent 122,242 38.24% Rysbek Särsenbai, Independent (Bizdin Tandau)
13.63% (43,565 votes)
12 Daniar Qasqaraurov Independent 153,225 63.76% Sydyq Däuletov, Amanat
21.69% (71,071 votes)
Atyrau Region 13 1 Ädil Jubanov Amanat 107,973 53.19% Särsenbai Eñsegenov, Independent
19.80% (40,185 votes)
West Kazakhstan Region 14 1 Abzal Quspan Independent 126,784 50.22% Luqpan Ahmediarov, Independent
18.29% (46,172 votes)
Jambyl Region 15 2 Muqaş Eskendirov Amanat 99,021 48.15% Serik Sälemov, Independent
34.88% (71,719 votes)
16 Güldara Nurymova Amanat 190,078 74.89% Mädina Jatqanbaeva, Aq Jol
10.49% (26,628 votes)
Jetisu Region 17 1 Ruslan Qojasbaev Amanat 132,678 55.81% Saiat Niusupov, Independent
7.63% (18,135 votes)
Karaganda Region 18 2 Qudaibergen Beksultanov Amanat 132,471 60.26% Mahmut Älipbergenov, QHP
14.24% (31,306 votes)
19 Arman Qalyqov Amanat 145,228 63.84% Rauan Şaekin, Independent
10.49% (23,864 votes)
Kostanay Region 20 1 Erkin Äbil Amanat 192,175 54.17% Berikjan Qaiypbai, Auyl
7.33% (26,002 votes)
Kyzylorda Region 21 1 Marhabat Jaiymbetov Amanat 148,646 31.11% Säbit Päzilov, Independent
18.77% (89,697 votes)
Mangystau Region 22 1 Edil Jañbyrşin Amanat 117,880 52.60% Qaiyrbek Maqulov, Independent
20.93% (46,909 votes)
Pavlodar Region 23 1 Jarkynbek Amantai Amanat 168,625 56.69% Rysty Jumabekova, Independent
13.11% (39,001 votes)
North Kazakhstan Region 24 1 Erkebulan Mämbetov Amanat 153,736 63.73% Oleg Ivanov, Independent
10.13% (24,436 votes)
Turkistan Region 25 3 Qairat Balabiev Amanat 142,595 73.50% Hudaişuqyr Abdullaev, Independent
15.88% (30,811 votes)
26 Ulasbek Sädibekov Amanat 92,445 54.45% Jasur Momynjanov, Independent
17.44% (29,602 votes)
27 Temir Qyryqbaev Amanat 117,584 54.87% Nūrjan Ältaev, Independent (El Tıregı)
16.39% (35,116 votes)
Ulytau Region 28 1 Erbolat Satybaldin Amanat 44,406 55.95% Dulat Süleimenov, Independent
10.10% (8,016 votes)
East Kazakhstan Region 29 1 Luqbek Tumaşinov Amanat 165,596 54.99% Sergei Bogolomov, Independent
6.51% (19,609 votes)

Party-list vote

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Party-list results by region[44][43]
Region Registered voters Amanat Auyl Respublica Aq Jol QHP JSDP Baytaq Against all Invalid/
blank 		Total
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
Abai Region 416,191 158,103 67.81% 13,919 5.97% 14,199 6.09% 9,000 3.86% 15,528 6.66% 11,285 4.84% 1,562 0.67% 9,559 4.10% 4,143 237,298 57.02%
Aqmola Region 517,816 204,078 69.51% 19,289 6.57% 15,414 5.25% 10,980 3.74% 18,027 6.14% 5,960 2.03% 8,103 2.76% 11,744 4.00% 17,161 310,756 60.01%
Aqtöbe Region 562,698 143,763 44.95% 48,198 15.07% 20,885 6.53% 43,624 13.64% 16,855 5.27% 17,654 5.52% 12,921 4.04% 15,927 4.98% 6,537 326,364 58.00%
Almaty Region 966,304 313,949 55.03% 51,007 8.94% 47,643 8.35% 43,561 7.64% 38,428 6.74% 29,324 5.14% 19,649 3.44% 26,901 4.72% 9,610 580,072 60.03%
Atyrau Region 412,382 92,484 44.30% 26,764 12.82% 39,290 18.82% 20,877 10.00% 9,708 4.65% 8,163 3.91% 3,967 1.90% 7,516 3.60% 2,494 211,263 51.23%
West Kazakhstan Region 442,446 128,081 49.85% 26,567 10.34% 17,189 6.69% 34,378 13.38% 20,914 8.14% 14,465 5.63% 2,312 0.90% 13,027 5.07% 4,995 261,928 59.20%
Jambyl Region 717,116 206,250 44.89% 80,773 17.58% 57,157 12.44% 55,503 12.08% 18,608 4.05% 17,643 3.84% 8,684 1.89% 14,840 3.23% 8,173 467,631 65.21%
Jetisu Region 443,617 107,413 44.67% 32,005 13.31% 45,254 18.82% 21,882 9.10% 9,186 3.82% 9,642 4.01% 5,531 2.30% 9,546 3.97% 4,949 245,408 55.32%
Qarağandy Region 761,673 231,756 52.15% 28,531 6.42% 81,148 18.26% 30,442 6.85% 31,686 7.13% 18,221 4.10% 7,022 1.58% 15,599 3.51% 8,638 453,043 59.48%
Qostanai Region 554,741 226,607 63.91% 37,797 10.66% 21,806 6.15% 25,848 7.29% 14,360 4.05% 16,098 4.54% 4,716 1.33% 7,340 2.07% 6,558 361,130 65.10%
Qyzylorda Region 486,034 175,664 54.84% 39,976 12.48% 25,764 8.04% 27,121 8.47% 9,962 3.11% 16,625 5.19% 12,685 3.96% 12,525 3.91% 6,341 326,663 67.21%
Mangystau Region 418,123 68,294 30.75% 23,343 10.51% 35,292 15.89% 32,560 14.66% 14,703 6.62% 23,409 10.54% 13,704 6.17% 10,794 4.86% 4,103 226,202 54.10%
Pavlodar Region 512,343 199,160 67.33% 9,998 3.38% 12,660 4.28% 14,464 4.89% 35,555 12.02% 10,471 3.54% 4,792 1.62% 8,696 2.94% 4,856 300,652 58.68%
North Kazakhstan Region 384,148 121,900 52.13% 18,800 8.04% 8,558 3.66% 46,042 19.69% 15,737 6.73% 6,781 2.90% 7,226 3.09% 8,792 3.76% 16,820 250,656 65.25%
Türkistan Region 1,168,728 293,134 48.86% 140,322 23.39% 12,897 2.15% 28,010 4.67% 55,765 9.30% 51,223 8.54% 7,401 1.23% 11,151 1.86% 19,588 619,491 53.01%
Ulytau Region 141,312 52,417 63.94% 6,919 8.44% 2,320 2.83% 5,861 7.15% 6,075 7.41% 4,394 5.36% 1,008 1.23% 2,984 3.64% 1,381 83,359 58.99%
East Kazakhstan Region 499,206 183,902 58.46% 50,238 15.97% 23,688 7.53% 16,484 5.24% 11,702 3.72% 13,716 4.36% 2,800 0.89% 12,048 3.83% 5,662 320,240 64.15%
Astana 788,931 186,496 55.91% 17,445 5.23% 24,283 7.28% 32,055 9.61% 34,957 10.48% 17,579 5.27% 5,137 1.54% 15,611 4.68% 7,555 341,118 42.91%
Almaty 1,202,078 150,312 50.33% 14,604 4.89% 29,208 9.78% 19,203 6.43% 33,688 11.28% 19,144 6.41% 13,887 4.65% 18,606 6.23% 11,764 310,416 25.82%
Shymkent 639,691 187,747 66.09% 7,443 2.62% 12,499 4.40% 17,244 6.07% 21,476 7.56% 19,261 6.78% 3,324 1.17% 15,085 5.31% 6,718 290,797 45.46%
Kazakhstan 12,035,578 3,431,510 53.90% 693,938 10.90% 547,154 8.59% 535,139 8.41% 432,920 6.80% 331,058 5.20% 146,431 2.30% 248.291 3.90% 158,046 6,524,487 54.21%

Election procedures and technology

[edit]
Voting booths, each with an AIS "Sailau" touch-screen electronic voting machine.

Prior to the 2012 parliamentary elections, many Kazakh voters were offered a choice of voting on electronic voting machines or on paper ballots. At least some of the ballot boxes used in Kazakhstan are transparent in order to defend against ballot box stuffing. Each polling place was equipped with both a large ballot box and smaller mobile ballot boxes. The latter are designed to be carried, by poll-workers, to voters outside the polling place.[45] This is an alternative to offering absentee ballots or proxy voting for voters with disabilities that prevent them from going to the polls.

Electronic voting in Kazakhstan is based on the AIS "Sailau" electronic voting system developed in Belarus and Kazakhstan. This system is best described as an indirect-recording electronic voting system, as opposed to the DRE voting machines that have been more widely studied.[46] In this system, the touch-screen voting terminal in the voting booth serves as a ballot marking device, recording selections on a smart card. The voting terminal itself retains no record of the vote after the voter takes the smart card. The voter then takes the smart card containing the cast ballot record to the computer at the registration table that serves as the electronic ballot box where the permanent record of the vote is retained and tabulated.

On November 16, 2011, Kuandyk Turgankulov, head of the Central Election Commission, said that the Sailau system would be discontinued because the voters prefer paper ballots, the political parties do not trust it, and the country lacks the funds required to update the system.[47]

Election financing

[edit]

Candidates for elected office in Kazakhstan can receive state financial support to cover campaign costs.[48] In Senate elections, each candidate receives about $2,170.

In Senate races, the state budget pays for each candidate’s 15-minute TV address (115 thousand tenge, approx. $303), 10 minutes on the radio (60 thousand tenge, approx. $158), 2 articles in the media (105 thousand tenge, approx. $276), hall rent for meeting with the voters (20 thousand tenge, approx. $53), publication of printed campaign materials (25 thousand tenge, approx. $66) and traveling (for Oblasts - 70 thousand tenge, approx. $184; for Astana and Almaty cities - 35 thousand tenge, approx. $92).

Observation

[edit]

There have been several international election observation missions organised in Kazakhstan. The OSCE has observed the elections.

Elections date observing organisation head of mission
early Majilis March 20, 2016 ODIHR/OSCE[49] Boris Frlec
early Majilis March 20, 2016 executive committee/CIS Sergey Lebedev
early presidential April 26, 2015 ODIHR/OSCE[50] Cornelia Jonker
early Majilis January 15, 2012 ODIHR/OSCE[51] Miklós Haraszti
early senate January 15, 2012 ODIHR/OSCE[51] Miklós Haraszti

Presidential elections

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See also: Kazakh presidential elections

Kazakhstan's president is elected by the people and serves a single seven-year term.

Term limits were removed for the incumbent Nursultan Nazarbayev on 18 May 2007, when parliament also voted to reduce the term length from seven to five years.[52]

Early presidential elections were called by President Nazarbayev and were held on April 26, 2015.[53] President Barack Obama sent a letter to President Nazarbayev congratulating him on his reelection in the April 26 election.[54]

After President Nazarbayev' resignation in March 2019,[55] snap presidential elections were held on June 9, 2019 with former Senate Chair Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emerging as the winner.[56] In September 2022, the parliament approved changing the term length from five to seven years while lowering the amount of terms to one.[57] In the same month, early presidential elections were called for 20 November 2022.[58]

Parliamentary elections

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The legislature, known as the Parliament (Parlamenti), has two chambers.

The Assembly (Mazhilis) has 98 members elected for a five-year term, in general elections, in the following way: 70% (69 deputies) from closed list party-list proportional representation allocated using the largest remainder method and 30% (29 deputies) from single-member districts that use the first-past-the-post voting (FPTP) method. There is a 5% electoral threshold.

The Senate has 50 members, 40 of whom are elected to six-year terms by delegates from the 17 provinces and three national cities, half of whom are elected every three years, and 10 are appointed by the President of Kazakhstan.

Municipal elections

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Citizens for the first time voted to elect local officials on July 25, 2021. Officials were previously appointed to their positions.[59]

International criticisms

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As of March 2015, none of the elections held in Kazakhstan have been considered free or fair by Western countries or international observers.[4] The 1999 Presidential election attracted criticism from the United States and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) who considered that harassment and intimidation of opposition candidates and supporters and the disqualification of an opponent of Nazarbayev[60] had made a meaningful election impossible. The OSCE criticised the 2011 presidential election, citing a lack of press freedom, transparency and competition.[61] Following the 2005 election, they noted a number of issues, including ballot tampering, multiple voting, intimidation and harassment of opposition candidates and their supporters, media bias and official restrictions on free expression.[62]

See also

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References

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  2. ^ "В Казахстане зарегистрирована партия Respublica" [Respublica party registered in Kazakhstan]. Kapital (in Russian). 18 January 2023. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  3. ^ Junisbai, Barbara (2005). "Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan: A Case Study in Economic Liberalization, Intra-elite Cleavage, and the Political Opposition" (PDF). Demokratizatsiya (Summer): 17. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-09-02. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  4. ^ a b Kazakhstan's long term president to run in snap election – again Archived 2019-09-11 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, 11 March 2015
  5. ^ "Kazakhstan". Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b Isaacs, Rico (21 March 2011). Party System Formation in Kazakhstan. p. 94. ISBN 9781136791086. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  7. ^ Isaacs, Rico (21 March 2011). Party System Formation in Kazakhstan. p. 89. ISBN 9781136791086. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
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  11. ^ Амангелді, Ақберен (20 November 2022). "Қазақстанда дауыс берудің соңғы қорытындысы шықты: Сайлаудың алғашқы нәтижесі дүйсенбіде жарияланады". Stan.kz (in Kazakh). Retrieved 2023-01-17.
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