Kazakhstan passes new election participation law

Sweeping new electoral changes to the law have been enacted in Kazakhstan, it has been announced.

On Tuesday, the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed off on the new laws.

These will allow, among other things, for direct elections of akims – mayors and governors - of cities of districts, villages, townships and rural districts.

Candidates in such elections must be citizens of Kazakhstan and at least 25 years old. Anyone nominated by political parties and “self-nominated” candidates can participate in the elections by collecting signatures of at least one percent of the total number of voters entitled to vote.

Elections must be announced at least 40 days in advance and must be held at least 10 days before the expiration of the term of office of the current akim. It is expected that in the second half of 2021, 836 new akims (accounting for 2,345 akims in total) will be directly elected.

Also, the threshold for parties eligible to enter parliament is to be lowered, from seven to five percent.

The government says the latest changes in the country’s election law are all part of its strategy to implement the concept of a “hearing state”. This is part of the Tokayev's administration's pledge to adopt already announced political reforms.

Presidential aide Yerlan Karin said the new laws are “key initiatives of the “Presidential Package of Political Reforms.”

He said, "Today, the head of state signed some very important documents on constitutional law and on elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan.”

So far, 10 laws have already been adopted within the framework of the President's political reforms.

The laws, said Karin, were “thoroughly and comprehensively discussed at various public venues, within the walls of Parliament with the participation of experts and civil activists, representatives of political parties.”

“Discussions on these topics were also held at the site of the National Council of Public Trust. Therefore, the adoption of these laws also testifies to the effectiveness of the socio-political dialogue in the country," said Karin.

Share this article: