In Kazakhstan, voters will go to the polls on August 23 to elect a new unicameral parliament, which is to replace the previous bicameral system and become another stage in President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s constitutional reforms, Bloomberg writes, according to UNN.
Details
Seven political parties are competing for 145 seats in parliament, with five-year terms of office. Voting is conducted via party lists. Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. and are due to close at 8:00 p.m. local time.
The new parliament is being formed following constitutional changes approved in a referendum in March. The reform provides for a transition to a unicameral legislative system, as well as the creation of the position of vice president, who is to replace the president in the event of the early termination of the head of state’s powers.
Tokayev is changing the political system
The 73-year-old Tokayev revised the constitutional rules after mass unrest in Kazakhstan in January 2022, which he called an attempted coup d’état. Following those events, presidential powers were limited to a single seven-year term.
Tokayev won an early presidential election under the new rules and had previously said that he would leave office in 2029. At the same time, Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court ruled last month that he could run for another presidential term. The court explained this by saying that, following the latest constitutional changes, the previous presidential election could be considered his first election under the new system.
Under Tokayev’s presidency, the authorities also carried out changes in the ownership structure of major metallurgical enterprises, which, according to Bloomberg, contributed to the formation of a new economic elite.
After the 2022 unrest, which was suppressed with the participation of troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization led by russia, Tokayev tightened control over Kazakhstan’s political system. In particular, he gradually dismantled the political legacy of his predecessor, Nursultan Nazarbayev, who transferred presidential powers to him in 2019.