Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Kazakhstan’s pro-government Adilet Party has won a landslide in the parliamentary election, according to preliminary results announced on Monday, in an outcome expected to further tighten President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s hold on power in Central Asia’s largest country.
Adilet, led by the former head of Tokayev’s presidential administration, secured 71 per cent of Sunday’s vote, the central electoral commission said. The election was the first for Kazakhstan’s new single-chamber parliament, created after constitutional changes backed in a referendum earlier this year.
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The Auyl Party finished second with 6.26 per cent of the vote. Three other parties — the Nationwide Social Democratic Party, Respublica and Aq Jol — also crossed the 5 per cent threshold needed to enter parliament. Election monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the vote was affected by the absence of a clear opposition, with “all contesting parties supporting the incumbent president’s policies”. The central electoral commission said about 74 per cent of the country’s 12.6 million eligible voters cast their ballots.
The new parliament, known as the Kurultai, is the result of a constitutional overhaul launched by Tokayev in March, when 87 per cent of voters backed a referendum to merge the two chambers of parliament. The changes also gave the president the power to appoint key officials, subject to lawmakers’ approval. Last month, Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court ruled that the amendments effectively reset the count on Tokayev’s previous terms, allowing him to seek another seven-year term when his current mandate ends in 2029. The decision echoed similar moves in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, where leaders have used new or amended constitutions to revise term limits.
Tokayev, 73, has been in office since 2019. A former Soviet official and Kazakh diplomat, he had earlier worked at the United Nations. Since sanctions were imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine, he has sought to balance ties between Moscow and the West. Tokayev has defended the constitutional changes by saying rapid decision-making is needed in a fast-changing world.
The election came at a difficult economic time for Kazakhstan, where inflation reached 10.2 per cent in February and tax increases have added to public discontent. Analysts say the economic pressure has made the authorities wary of a repeat of the January 2022 unrest, when protests over fuel prices turned violent and left dozens of protesters and police officers dead. The vote also took place amid growing concern over press freedom. Media organisations have urged Tokayev to drop criminal charges against several journalists under house arrest and to change the law to ensure freedom of speech. Authorities have opened about 10 criminal cases against independent journalists and popular bloggers. Overall, the election strengthened the ruling side in a reshaped parliament while concerns remained over opposition space, economic pressure and media freedom.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
