Amid the news surrounding the controversial new media law, a sideshow event took place this week on July 4th that provides interesting consideration. Otan, the largest pro-presidential political party, and Asar, the second largest have joined forces as one single political entity. While for many this should not necessarily come as any surprise, due to the fact that since both their conceptions they have had very similar positions and goals, it does, however, signify a concrete move to create the overwhelming pro-presidential party that Nazarbaev has been hankering for since independence. Previously, president Nazarbaev had found it difficult to maintain a pro-presidential party in the Majilis, firstly with the now defunct Socialist Party, and then with the Peoples Unity Party which in the words of Martha Brill Olcott ‘was ineffective at mobilising popular support’. It was not until former Prime Minister Tereschenko created Otan in 1999 that there has been a pro-presidential party that could command considerable public support.

Again, this move is not entirely unexpected. Only last month it was reported that Dariga Nazarbaeva, the president’s daughter and leader of Asar, was calling for such a merger of forces.

Whether Nazarbaeva instigated the move as an attempt to reassert her political ambitions, as suggested in the article above, or if it was just a move by the two largest pro-presidential republican parties to consolidate support for the president’s program, is a debate that is maybe extraneous. However, if we were looking for a comparison we could look no further than the emergence of United Russia in the Russian Federation. The merger, in 2001, between Yuri Luzhkov’s, Yevgeny Primakov’s and Mintimer Shaeymiev’s Fatherland – All Russia party, and the Unity Party of Russia, led by Sergei Shoigu and Alexander Karelin, gave president Putin a strong pro-presidential party to support his key reforms and policies in the Duma. While President Nazarbaev has had fairly strong support in the Majilis since the 1999 parilamentary elections, the merger of Otan and Asar now conslidates his position and as mentioned earlier fufils an ambition since indepedence of having a strong pro-presidental party to back his policies, something which his peers in Turkmenistan, (President Niyazov has the support of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan) and Uzbekistan (President Karimov has the support of the Peoples Democratic Party) have had since the collapse of the USSR.

The move sees president Nazarbaev as head of the new “Otan” with Bakhytzhan Zhumagulov, Alexander Pavlov and Dariga Nazarbayeva and his deputies. According to Bakhytzhan Zhumagulov:

Today’s main aim is the implementation of the strategy for Kazakhstan to enter the top 50 most competitive countries of the world. This is a transition to a qualitatively new stage of development, which will enable Kazakhstan to make a breakthrough into the world elite of most developed states of the world. There has never been such a grandiose goal throughout all the history of Kazakhstan! The task is somewhat difficult, but executable because our leader has clearly pinpointed the main goal and the way to achieve it. Our parties “Otan” and “Asar” are experienced organizations in working together since the People’s Coalition of Kazakhstan and from that very moment the positions of our parties have been constantly getting closer. However, saying that the closing in was smooth and problem-free would be false and insincere. There were some discords and heated discussions, but, we were still searching for something that would bring us together, not apart, because we are moved by one and the same – the supreme interests of the state: stability, prosperity, the development of democracy, backing the president’s line.

The merger will have consequences for the opposition, although not as detrimental as the consequences of the 2002 law on political parties which has significantly restricted the ability of opposition parties to operate in the Republic. According to the law all parties had to re-register but parties were only allowed to register if they had prohibitively high number of members – 50,000. Nevertheless, the new ‘Otan’ raises the bar for the remaining opposition parties. It signals that they too are going to have to find common ground and a unified sense of purpose if they are too emerge as kind of constructive opposition. The last word however goes to the president himself who sees the merger of the two parties as key to the future economic success of Kazakhstan and the country’s 2030 strategy:

First of all, I congratulate you all on making this important decision, which is significant for both “Otan” and “Asar” and the whole of Kazakhstan. The decision to unite the two parties – “Otan” and “Asar” has been made at a crucial moment for our country. We are close, now, to the accomplishment of the transition stage and are about to implement the strategy of Kazakhstan’s entering the top 50 most competitive countries of the world. The union of the two parties, which follows common views, is an absolutely consistent step; because the amalgamated organization should be an alloy of the reliability of intone with Kazakhstan’s strategy for 2030. The united party should be the exponent of the interests of the people of all nationalities living in Kazakhstan; it should cultivate the ideas of national and inter-confessional stability. This policy should be carried out strictly, neutralizing destructive influences such as the increase in illegal religious and chauvinistic ideas which can provoke the growth of intensity in the interdenominational and inter-ethnic environment. Both parties have united in an effort to achieve common goals for the sake of the country’s progress and its accession to the top, most competitive countries of the world, – that is how I understood the given decision. We have a common objective – the growth of our citizens’ well being. We will work on this together, – we should be together to achieve the goals we have set and move forward.