On April 3, 2011, citizens of Kazakhstan went to the polls to vote for their next President.

While the Central Election Commission works hard on keeping President Nazarbayev in his seat he has been holding for more than twenty years, International Republican Institute released a report title “Kazakhstan Pre-Election Watch: April 2011 Presidential Election.”

IRI report says that elections will likely result in an additional five-year term for Nursultan Nazarbaev. “Since its independence, Kazakhstan has not held an election that has been deemed free and fair by the international community.”

neweurasia presents the report to its readers.

Political Environment

The upcoming election was called nearly two years before Nazarbaev’s current term is set to expire. Nazarbaev asked parliament to approve the snap election just days after an attempt to extend his current term to the year 2020 was ruled unconstitutional by Kazakhstan’s constitutional council, presumably due to international criticism of the move that would reduce the opportunity for political participation by eliminating two election cycles scheduled for 2012 and 2017. More than five million Kazakhstanis allegedly signed petitions supporting the term extension, a statistic that has been used to justify the call for an early election. The move also came shortly after the end of the Kazakh chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose mission includes a strong emphasis on improving democracy and human rights.

The election was announced on February 4, 2011, just 58 days before the election was to be held. Candidates had 26 days, until March 2, to complete an extensive registration process that requires 91,010 valid signatures to be collected from supporters, as well as the successful passage of a Kazakh language exam that has been criticized by opposition leaders and international media as being used to prevent opponents of President Nazarbaev from competing in the election.

Of the 22 candidates that initiated the registration process, only four were ultimately registered, including Nazarbaev. Five candidates failed the mandatory Kazakh language test, four opted not to take the test, five withdrew their candidacy and four were denied registration by the Central Election Commission for failing to meet one or more registration requirements. The three registered challengers in the race openly support the incumbent president.

The four candidates and a brief summary of their platforms are as follows:

Nursultan Nazarbaev, Nur Otan Party – Nazarbaev’s platform stresses sustainable economic growth, support for small and medium-sized businesses, and goals to reduce unemployment and poverty while increasing the average lifespan of Kazakhs. It also includes a plan for an initial public offering on stock for state-owned companies.

Zhambyl Akhmetbekov, People’s Communist Party – The Communist candidate is running under the slogan “authorities have power, we have truth,” with the aim of using the country’s natural resources to benefit the people of Kazakhstan. Akhmetbekov promises to nationalize the energy, oil and mining industries in addition to railways and airlines. He also proposes halting or reducing exports of raw materials including cotton, wool and iron and introducing state controls over pricing.

Gani Kasymov, Party of Patriots – Kasymov’s plans include the expansion of the powers of the state and a transition to mixed presidential-parliamentary system of government, while abolishing regional governments. Kasymov’s platform also proposes a return to collective farming and reduction of the retirement age of women to 55.

Mels Eleusizov, Independent Candidate – Eleusizov is the head of an environmental organization, Tabighat, and bases his platform on opposition to Kazakhstan’s accession to the World Trade Organization. He claims that his candidacy is aimed at bringing attention to environmental issues.

From March 3, candidates ha[d] only a 30-day campaign period that ends at midnight on April 1. The campaign to date has been relatively quiet, with Nazarbaev declining to campaign personally and the other candidates refusing to criticize the incumbent.

Critics of this process have pointed out that the opposition had little time to prepare for the candidate registration process, leaving voters with no real choice on Election Day. The “against all” option was removed from the ballot, leaving no official option for voters to express discontent with the process. In addition, no turnout requirement exists, so the winner needs only to obtain 50 percent plus one vote of those cast to win the presidency.

In response to what they feel is an election with no real choices for voters, the opposition and a coalition of nongovernmental organizations are urging voters to boycott the election. The boycott has gained strength, due largely to its use of new media and messaging. Campaign organizers and leaders at both the national and local levels, however, have faced harassment by officials and attacks by Nazarbaev supporters.

IRI in Kazakhstan

The International Republican Institute’s (IRI) political party development program in Kazakhstan provides intensive assistance in party building in the areas of message development, issue-based party platform development, grassroots outreach strategies, voter contact, party image improvement and the creation of regional-level party structures. The program was designed to engage political parties between elections and assists regional party offices in identifying issues that are important to the electorate.

IRI has conducted public opinion surveys in Kazakhstan since 2004 with the goal of gauging public opinion and to assist Kazakhstan’s political parties in platform development and messaging.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Follow neweurasia‘s coverage of the pre-election athmosphere (click on the post to access posts):

- The elections are coming… but where are the candidates?
- Echoes of Tunisia/Egypt in Kazakhstan
- “Elections and the Media” in Kazakhstan
- I’m Voting!

Latest posts on Kazakhstan can be found here.