Elections in Kazakhstan
Elections in Kazakhstan are held on a national level to elect a President and the Parliament, which is divided into two bodies, the Majilis (Lower House) and the Senate (Upper House). Local elections for maslikhats (local representative bodies) are held every five years. [1]
Elections are administered by the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is a one party dominant state. This party is a union of several parties and it was elected in 2007. Opposition political parties are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power.
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[edit] Election procedures and technology
In the recent Kazakh elections, many Kazakh voters were offered a choice of voting on electronic voting machines or on paper ballots. At least some of the ballot boxes used in Kazakhstan are transparent in order to defend against ballot box stuffing. Each polling place was equipped with both a large ballot box and smaller mobile ballot boxes. The latter are designed to be carried, by poll-workers, to voters outside the polling place.[2] This is an alternative to offering absentee ballots or proxy voting for voters with disabilities that prevent them from going to the polls.
Electronic voting in Kazakhstan is based on the AIS "Sailau" electronic voting system developed in Belarus and Kazakhstan. This system is best described as an indirect-recording electronic voting system, as opposed to the DRE voting machines that have been more widely studied.[3] In this system, the touch-screen voting terminal in the voting booth serves as a ballot marking device, recording selections on a smart card. The voting terminal itself retains no record of the vote after the voter takes the smart card. The voter then takes the smart card containing the cast ballot record to the computer at the registration table that serves as the electronic ballot box where the permanent record of the vote is retained and tabulated.
[edit] Presidential elections
Kazakhstan's president is elected by the people and serves for at most two five-year terms. Term limits were removed for the incumbent Nursultan Nazarbayev on 18 May 2007, when parliament also voted to reduce the term length from seven to five years.[4]
Early presidential elections were called by President Nazarbaev. They will be held on 3 April 2011.
[edit] Latest election
| Candidates and nominating parties | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursultan Nazarbayev – Nur Otan | 7,850,958 | 95.55 | |
| Ghani Qasymov – Patriots Party | 159,036 | 1.94 | |
| Zhambyl Akhmetbekov – Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan | 111,924 | 1.36 | |
| Mels Eleusizov – Tabighat | 94,452 | 1.15 | |
| Total (turnout 89.99%) | 8,216,370 | 100.00 | |
| Source: Assembly of People of Kazakhstan, Daily Times | |||
[edit] Parliamentary elections
The legislature, known as the Parliament (Parlamenti), has two chambers.
The Assembly (Mazhilis) has 77 seats, elected for a four year term, 67 in single seat constituencies and 10 by proportional representation
The Senate has 47 members, 40 of whom are elected to six-year terms in double-seat constituencies by the local assemblies, half renewed every two years, and 7 presidential appointees. In addition, ex-presidents are ex-officio senators for life.
The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2011, however government leaders have hinted that early elections may take place in the fall of 2009, in preparation for Kazakhstan's takeover of the OSCE chairmanship in 2010.[5]
[edit] Latest Election
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fatherland (Nur-Otan) | 5,174,169 | 88.05 | 98 |
| Nationwide Social Democratic Party (Zhalpyulttyk Sotsial-Demokratiyalyk Partiya) | 271,525 | 4.62 | 0 |
| Democratic Party of Kazakhstan Bright Path (Qazaqstan Demokratiyalyk Partiyasi Ak Zhol) | 192,155 | 3.27 | 0 |
| Village Social Democratic Party (Auyl Sotsial-Demokratiyalyk Partiyasi) | 93,023 | 1.58 | 0 |
| People's Communist Party of Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan Khalyk Kommunistik Partiyasi) | 77,274 | 1.31 | 0 |
| Party of Patriots | 44,175 | 0.75 | 0 |
| Rukhaniyat Party | 24,308 | 0.41 | 0 |
| Total (turnout 64.56%) | 98 |
[edit] Past elections
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[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Kazakhstan Legislation Online
- ^ Chapter 7, Article 41, Paragraph 6, of the Kazakh Election Law, as amended, June 2007.
- ^ Douglas W. Jones, The Sailau E-Voting System, Direct Democracy: Progress and Pitfalls of Election Technology, Michael Yard, ed., International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Sept. 2010; pages 74-95.
- ^ Kazakh MPs lift presidency limit BBC News
- ^ Kazakhstan: Early Parliamentary Poll on the Cards Eurasianet
[edit] External links
- The Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan
- Kazakhstan Elections Adam Carr's Election Archive
- OSCE reports on Kazakhstani elections
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