Otan (political party)
Otan Отан | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Nursultan Nazarbayev |
| Founded | February 12, 1999 |
| Merger of | People's Union of Kazakhstan Unity, Liberal Movement of Kazakhstan and For Kazakhstan - 2030 |
| Succeeded by | Nur Otan |
| Headquarters | Astana |
| Ideology | Big tent Authoritarianism[1] |
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Fatherland (Kazakh: Отан. Otan; from Perso-Arabic: وطن / waṭan) was the largest political party in Kazakhstan, led by Bakhytzhan Zhumagulov with over 700,000 members[2] until December 22. At a subsequent party congress, delegates agreed to incorporate the Civic Party and the Agrarian Party and rename the party to Nur-Otan.
Otan was originally established on February 12, 1999 after the merger of several previously independent pro-presidential parties, including the People's Union of Kazakhstan Unity, the Liberal Movement of Kazakhstan, and the "For Kazakhstan - 2030" Movement. At the uniting congress, the new party outlined a program largely supportive of the government led by President Nursultan Nazarbayev.[3]
During its last legislative elections under the Otan banner (19 September and 3 October 2004), the party won 60.6% of the popular vote and 42 out of 77 seats.
In the run-up to previous elections, Otan usually received a majority of domestic media coverage. Before the 1999 election, for example, it was reported that Otan was the main focus in almost 60% of the coverage.[4] Additionally, most of the country's major media outlets had political leanings towards Otan (including those networks such as Khabar, which were formally supportive of Asar).
Election results
President
| Election year | Candidate | # of overall votes | % of overall vote | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Nursultan Nazarbayev | 6,147,517 | 91.15% | Elected |
Mazhilis
| Election | Seats won | ± | Total votes | Share of votes | Position | Party leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 23 / 77
|
 23
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1,622,895 | 30.90% | Minority gov't | Kassym-Jomart Tokayev |
| 2004 | 42 / 77
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 19
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5,621,436 | 60.60% | Majority gov't | Daniyal Akhmetov |
References
- ^ Del Sordi, Adele, Parties of power as authoritarian institutions: The cases of Russia and Kazakhstan (PDF), Spanish Political Science Association (AECPA), retrieved 22 January 2012
- ^ Kazakh pro-presidential parties complete merger RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
- ^ Information on Political Parties Participating on the Basis of Party Slates in Elections to Majilis of Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan
- ^ Media Bias Mars Kazakhstan's Election Campaign EurasiaNet
External links
- Official Otan Party Page (Russian)
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