Legislative in Kazakhstan: the broad winning ruling party

Kazakhstan's ruling party won nearly two-thirds of the seats in parliament, according to final results on Monday, a week after early parliamentary elections where timid promises of democratic openness hardly masked the still authoritarian nature of the regime.

A new system was introduced for this ballot: of the 98 deputies in the Majilis, the lower house of Parliament, 69 were elected by proportional representation and 29 by the uninominal ballot, where independent candidates competed, a first since 2004. According to the Electoral Commission of this vast Central Asian country, 62 deputies from the powerful Amanat party will sit in the Majilis, where six parties will be represented, against three under the previous legislature.

Limited opening

The five other parties will have between four and eight deputies and the remaining seven places will be occupied by independent candidates.

But these parties are all more or less loyal to President Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev and several opposition parties remain banned.

This very limited opening is part of a constitutional reform voted last year to build a

fairer "

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) considered after the elections that "

", while noting that reforms already allow “

” for voters.

Read alsoMukhtar Abliazov, the Kazakh political refugee who was worth seven billion dollars

Ballot box stuffing

Videos of ballot box stuffing in several regions of Kazakhstan have been posted on social media.

The OSCE noted that “

” and the Electoral Commission confirmed a few cases of ballot box stuffing on Monday.

Bordering Russia, a former tutelary power, and China with a growing appetite for the region, Kazakhstan is far from being rid of corruption, nepotism and strong economic inequalities.

Large as five times the size of France, Kazakhstan remains marked by demonstrations against the high cost of living in January 2022 which degenerated into riots where President Tokayev had ordered to “

”.

Officially 238 people died during these events.