Voters in Kazakhstan are casting ballots in a snap parliamentary election that will create a 145-member unicameral legislature. More than 12 million of the country’s 20 million people are eligible to vote, with polling stations open from 7am to 8pm local time, or 02:00 to 15:00 GMT.
The election is expected to strengthen President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s control of parliament because only seven state-approved parties, all loyal to him, were allowed to put forward candidates.
A one-body parliament replaces the old system
Constitutional overhauls earlier this year abolished Kazakhstan’s upper house and replaced it with a single-chamber legislature. Officials say the change will give parliament greater weight in political decision-making, after its previous role was described as mostly auxiliary.
The vote follows a political break with Nazarbayev
Tokayev has led Kazakhstan since 2019, when he succeeded longtime leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled the former Soviet state for almost 30 years from the 1990s.
Tokayev broke with Nazarbayev amid cost-of-living protests in 2022 that led to 238 deaths. Since then, he has promoted a reform programme called “Just Kazakhstan”.
What the result could mean for Kazakhstan
The constitutional changes reset term limits, allowing Tokayev to run again in 2029. Critics say the parliamentary election and the broader overhaul will consolidate presidential power, while officials present the new structure as a stronger role for parliament.
Kazakhstan is oil-rich and supplies about 2 percent of daily world oil production, mostly exporting to European countries through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium to Russia’s port of Novorossiysk. Tokayev is also balancing relations with China, Europe and Russia amid tensions linked to Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
No comments yet. Start the discussion.