Voters headed to parliamentary polls in Kazakhstan on Sunday with the ruling party expected to score a big win and the oil-rich country’s only registered opposition force boycotting the ballot.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, 67, has pledged gradual political reform in the authoritarian Central Asian nation since being eased into his post by Nursultan Nazarbayev, who called time on nearly 30 years as head of state in early 2019.
But 80-year-old Nazarbayev retains powerful positions, including the chairmanship of the Nur Otan party that controls the lower house and boasts 800,000 members among a population of 19 million.
The party is expected to win a commanding majority in the lower house polls featuring four other competing parties that are viewed as proxies.
The Fiji Times » Kazakh ex-president s party set to retain hold on power in Sunday s vote fijitimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fijitimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
EU Reporter
Elections are taking place today, 10
th January 2021, in Kazakhstan to the Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament, as well as the Maslikhats, local representative bodies. 98 members of parliament are selected from nationwide party lists that pass the 7% threshold, while the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, a constitutional body representing the country’s various ethnic communities, elects nine.
312 candidates are standing from across five parties. Reflecting the diversity of Kazakh society, the candidates include 90 women (29%), 19 people under the age of 29, and representatives from 12 ethnicities.
Candidates from five political parties registered by the Central Election Commission – Nur Otan, People’s Party of Kazakhstan, Ak Zhol Democratic Party, Auyl People’s Democratic Patriotic Party and Adal – are participating in the elections. To facilitate the voting, 10,061 polling stations are available for an electorate of 11 million voters, including 66 i
Kazakh ex-president s party set to retain hold on power in Sunday s vote swissinfo.ch - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from swissinfo.ch Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.