2012 Kazakh Legislative Election
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Legislative elections were held in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
on 15 January 2012. The result was a victory for the
Nur Otan Amanat (; ; officially stylized in all caps), previously known as Nur Otan (; ), is a Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Kazakhstan, political party of Kazakhstan and the largest political association in the country, with around 8 ...
party, which won 83 of the 98 seats in the Mäjilis. However, the
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(OSCE) stated that the election "did not meet fundamental principles of democratic elections."OSCE Monitors Criticize Kazakh Vote Failings
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, 16 January 2012
The elections marked the first time that the second-placed party would gain parliamentary seats irrespective of whether it cleared the 7%
electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...
.At Least One Party To Enter New Kazakh Assembly
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, 16 January 2012
Due to the Zhanaozen massacre and the resulting
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there, the election was not planned to be held in Zhanaozen. However, this decision was overturned on 10 January 2012.


Background

In the 2007 Kazakh legislative elections, the pro-presidential party
Nur Otan Amanat (; ; officially stylized in all caps), previously known as Nur Otan (; ), is a Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Kazakhstan, political party of Kazakhstan and the largest political association in the country, with around 8 ...
won all the 98 contested seats in the Mazhilis, which eliminated any form of opposition, bringing the
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
under a
single-party A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
control. This received criticism and pressure from international and opposition groups in the country. In an interview to
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, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
Karim Massimov Karim Qajymqanuly Massimov (, , ; born 15 June 1965)Kazakhstan moves to ...
expressed his support of having opposition in the Parliament as in a way of that the democratic reforms match an economic growth. Following President
Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev (born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakhstani politician who served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. He also held the special title of Elbasy from 2010 to 2022 and chairman of the Security Council of ...
's reelection in the 2011 presidential election, he announced the promise of bringing a "new era of democratic reforms." Nazarbayev's advisor Ermukhamet Ertysbayev stated that the next Mazhilis convocation have a
two-party system A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referr ...
in which he used comparison with the
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and
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as an example. Opposition activist
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criticized the move, saying that the authorities would not let real opposition groups enter the Parliament.


Dissolution of the 4th Mäjilis

On 9 November 2011 Ermukhamet Ertysbayev, in an interview with the Vremya newspaper, expressed his opinion that “theoretically, it can be assumed” that the Mäjilis deputies at the plenary come up with an initiative to dissolve the
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. At the same time, Ertysbayev said that “Kazakhstan should enter the third decade of independence with at least a two-party Parliament." That same day, Mäjilis Chair Oral Muhamedjanov dismissed claims of the Parliament's dissolution as rumors. At the same time, a number of deputies said that they expected the issue of self-dissolution to be raised. The following day on 10 November, members of the Mäjilis Nurtai Sabilianov and Viktor Rogalev announced to the media representatives an appeal to
Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev (born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakhstani politician who served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. He also held the special title of Elbasy from 2010 to 2022 and chairman of the Security Council of ...
with a request to adopt a decree on the dissolution of the 5th Mäjilis and mäslihats. 53 Mäjilis deputies signed the appeal. The proposal was substantiated by several reasons: the expectation of a second wave of the global financial and economic crisis in 2012 and the expediency of focusing on overcoming a possible crisis, without being distracted by the electoral cycle, and the need to form a Parliament of at least two political parties. On 16 November 2011 the President
Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev (born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakhstani politician who served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. He also held the special title of Elbasy from 2010 to 2022 and chairman of the Security Council of ...
signed a decree "On the dissolution of the Mäjilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the fourth convocation and the appointment of early elections of deputies of the Mäjilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan", according to which the Mäjilis was dissolved, and the elections of deputies elected by party lists were scheduled for 15 January 2012, and the deputies elected from the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan for January 16. This dissolution of Parliament was marked as the 4th time since Kazakhstan's independence in 1991.


Electoral system

The 98 directly-elected deputies of the Mäjilis were elected from a single nationwide constituency by
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
with a 7%
electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of votes that a candidate or political party requires before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can operate in various ...
. Seats were allocated using the
largest remainder method Party-list proportional representation Apportionment methods The quota or divide-and-rank methods make up a category of apportionment rules, i.e. algorithms for allocating seats in a legislative body among multiple groups (e.g. parties or f ...
. If parties had an equal largest remainder, the party that was registered first was awarded the seat. If only one party crossed the threshold, the party with the second highest number of votes was to be awarded at least two seats. A further nine seats were elected by the Assembly of People, a body selected by the President.


Results

The nine nominees were: Sauytbek Abdrahmov, Vladimir Bozhko, Natalya Zhumadildayeva, Roman Kim, Narine Mikaelyan, Ahmet Muradov, Shaimardan Nurumov, Yury Tymochenko and Shakir Khakhazov.


Reactions

The opposition claimed there was widespread irregularities and fraud. The OSCE and
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did not recognise the elections as democratic.Kazakh ruling party wins 80.74 per cent in vote: early result
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, 16 January 2012
Miklos Haraszti, the head of the OSCE's long-term election-observation mission, criticized what he called a "tightly controlled campaign environment in which the electoral rights of the citizens were seriously limited." "There was limited public debate and the media, the mass media operates in an environment characterized by self-censorship and in which there is no room for editorial independence in the broadcast media." Haraszti said the "results of the election, including the presence of two parties apart from the state party, can be described as an orchestrated election."


References


External links


Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan
{{Kazakhstan elections Elections in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
Legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...