Kazakhstan To Hold Parliamentary Elections On Jan 2021

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec. 15 (Bernama) -- Kazakhstan will be celebrating its 29th anniversary of Independence on December 16. Over the years, the country has achieved tremendous results in political, economic, and social spheres, and has developed into a leading state in the region with a high profile on the global stage. Many crucial reforms were initiated and conducted by the First President of Kazakhstan – Leader of the Nation Nursultan Nazarbayev and his successor, current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, to ensure rapid transformation from an agricultural outskirt of the Soviet Union into a modern society with an advanced economy and financial institutions, attractive for foreign investments and business opportunities. The upcoming elections to the Mazhilis (lower chamber) of Kazakhstan's parliament on Jan 10, 2021, will once again demonstrate its leadership’s strong commitment to consistently democratise and modernise political institutions that will ensure the renewal of country’s political system. Kazakhstan's Ambassador to Malaysia Bolat Imanbayev said numerous political reforms have been implemented and a number of initiatives were proposed in Kazakhstan to ensure that elections are held in accordance with the highest standards. These included the lowering of the threshold for registering political parties from 40,000 members to 20,000, making it easier to establish new ones. He said Kazakhstan's President K. Tokayev, in one of his latest addresses, highlighted the amendments made to the laws on the election, which guarantee the involvement of opposition parties in the legislation process. He said this also proved Kazakhstan’s commitments towards democratic, gender, and demographic reforms in the political sphere. “According to the amendments, the election of one chairman and two secretaries of the Standing Committees of Mazhilis on various social, economic, political and other issues will be carried out from among the deputies representing the parliamentary opposition. “The parliamentary opposition is empowered to initiate parliamentary hearings at least once during one session, as well as to determine the agenda of the Government Hour (governmental report) in the lower chamber at least twice during each session,” Imanbayev said in a statement sent to Bernama, here. He added that leaders of factions of political parties are also guaranteed the right to address the Joint sessions of the Chambers of the Parliament, Plenary sessions of the Mazhilis, meetings of the Standing Committees and various Working Groups, as well as during Parliamentary hearings and other events. Other important changes to the Constitutional Law “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan” and the Law “On Political Parties” include a guarantee of a 30 per cent quota in party lists for women and youth under the age of 29, he said. He said that innovations in the political sphere will encourage the functioning of the institution of the parliamentary opposition, contribute to the rejuvenation of the average age of the Mazhilis deputies, and an increase in the number of the representation of women in the new composition of the Parliament.  According to Imanbayev, since 2007, the Mazhilis consists of 107 deputies, where 98 of them are elected by a proportional electoral system according to party lists, and nine independent non-party members elected by the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan. The current composition of the Mazhilis includes representatives of three political parties, which, in 2016,  received more than seven per cent of the votes necessary to win the right to delegate their deputies to the lower chamber, he said. There are five political parties registered in Kazakhstan, namely the “Nur Otan” Party, Democratic Party of Kazakhstan “Ak Zhol”, People's Party of Kazakhstan, People's Patriotic Democratic Party “Auyl”, and Party “Adal”. He said for the first time, election based on party lists for Maslikhats – the local representatives’ bodies at the regional level, will take place at the same time. The elections to Maslikhats based on party lists are expected to give new impetus to the development of regional self-government and provide the opportunity to small parties to be represented at the local executive bodies. “The amendments to Kazakhstan election laws demonstrate the commitment of the government to implement a new strategy of successful economic reforms, combined with the modernisation of the country's socio-political life. “’Intelligent power based on full dialogue and regular communication’ is a new trend in the political space of Kazakhstan,” he said. He said the Kazakhstan government is also making efforts to conduct election process safely, and will continue to assess the development of the COVID-19 pandemic and to publish the best protocols needed. He also said any citizens of Kazakhstan without an outstanding criminal record and conviction for corruption crimes or offences, who is at least 25 years old and has permanently resided in the country for the last 10 years, can be a member of parliament. The current term for the Mazhilis will expire in March 2021. -- BERNAMA