Kazakhstan - 2023 Election
On 19 January, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced early parliamentary elections for the lower chamber of parliament (Majilis) to be held along with local elections for all levels of local councils on 19 March. The elections take place amid a series of reforms initiated in the country.
The early parliamentary elections follow the political turmoil and deadly violence of January 2022, the Constitutional referendum of 5 June 2022 and the early presidential election of 20 November 2022. The tragic January events triggered a major reshuffle of government personnel; the President, envisioning a new state model “New and Fair Kazakhstan”, introduced a reform agenda for the “reset and renewal of all major political institutions: the President, the Parliament, and the Government” to be completed by mid-2023.
All 98 members of the Majilis will be elected under a newly introduced mixed electoral system with two-thirds elected under a closed-list proportional system and one-third under a majoritarian contest. There are significant variations in the numbers of registered voters between the newly created singlemandate districts, following the delineation of electoral boundaries. The legal framework for parliamentary elections was amended extensively in recent years. The change of the electoral system impacted candidate registration, altered the structure and work of the election administration, including election day procedures, and modified campaign finance provisions.
The elections are administered by the Central Election Commission (CEC), as well as territorial, district and precinct election commissions (TECs, DECs and PECs). The CEC held regular sessions attended by media, political parties, and state institutions. CEC sessions are live-streamed in Kazakh and Russian languages, with sign language interpretation and decisions are published promptly. Eligible to vote are citizens over 18 years old with the exception of those declared incompetent by a court or serving a prison sentence irrespective of the gravity of the crime. Voter registration is passive and based on permanent residency. Voter lists are compiled by the local executive bodies from state civil registry data.
Shortly before the elections, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) registered two new parties, Baytaq and Respublika, increasing the total number of political parties to seven. These, in addition to the newly registered parties, include parliamentary Amanat (formerly Nur Otan) - 76 seats, the Democratic Party Ak Zhol, 12 seats, and the People’s Party of Kazakhstan (PPK), 10 seats as well as the National Democratic Patriotic Party Auyl, the Nationwide Social-Democratic Party (NSDP). Some 40 per cent of the outgoing members of the Majilis are running in these elections.
While only political parties may nominate candidates to stand in the nationwide electoral district, the nomination of candidates in the single-mandate electoral districts can be made by political parties, public associations, and citizens through self-nomination. The CEC registered 7 party lists with 281 candidates for the proportional race and TECs and DECs registered 435 majoritarian candidates, including 359 self-nominated candidates. Many single-mandate candidates raised concerns about the high financial deposit required for the registration.
Campaigns of candidates on party lists may be financed through the electoral fund of their parties, whereas candidates in single-mandate electoral districts finance their campaigns through their own funds and donations, and can benefit from public subsidies. Legislation sets donation and expenditure limits.
The media market is influenced by the significant amount of state funding allocated to the media. Television remains a significant source of political information, although the popularity of online media and social networks is increasing. There are no national public broadcasters; the three major national broadcasters, Khabar TV, Qazaqstan TV and Zhibek Zholy, are state-owned, while private media ownership is not transparent. In the opinion of the ODIHR EOM interlocutors, numerous recent cases of intimidation and harassment of critical online journalists and bloggers have created a perception of impunity and contribute to widespread self-censorship.
The amount of public funding allotted to the media is comparable to the entire advertisement market of Kazakhstan. The law obliges the media to provide objective coverage of the contestants, refrain from damaging the honour and dignity of contestants and ensure equal conditions for the allocation of free time and space. Recent amendments to the Election Law extended the media regulations to all users of online platforms, including social networks and instant chat messengers.
The campaign officially began on 18 February and would end on 17 March. The campaign appeared lively, in particular online and in single-mandate electoral districts with a large number of candidates. Contestants relied on organizing indoor meetings, mostly at places of work, using posters and billboards, and being active on social networks. No single topic has dominated the campaign yet, with parties and candidates focusing on a wide range of social, economic, and political issues.
The law prohibits campaign activities before the official start of the campaign, providing fines and/or rejection of registration as sanctions. By law, state and local administration bodies should make their premises, equipment, and other assets available to all contestants, and provide equal conditions for same.
To hold an outdoor campaign event, candidates should notify local authorities five days before the planned activity. By law, executive bodies reserve the right to permit or refuse an event based on an extensive list of grounds, or offer another public place and time for holding the event. The legislation provides for specially designated places for such events. Many contestants informed the ODIHR EOM that they would not hold outdoor rallies, while some believed that such events were in practice not allowed.
The misuse of state resources, charitable actions, and promising goods, services, money or economic gains to voters are all prohibited. Candidates in state positions are forbidden to use their official position to their advantage in the campaign. Campaigning by state and local government officials while on duty is illegal. Violations of campaign rules can lead to deregistration of a candidate or the entire party list.
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