Snap Snap or SNAP may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Snap'' (film), the initial release title for the 2013 film ''Enter the Dangerous Mind'' * '' The Stanly News and Press'', a newspaper in Albemarle, North Carolina, US * "Snap" (''Duty Free'') ...

presidential 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 9 June 2019 to elect the

President of Kazakhstan The president of Kazakhstan, officially the president of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the executive head of state of the Kazakhstan and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. As the highest-ranking official ...

following the resignation of long-term 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 ...

in March 2019.Kazakhstan to hold early presidential election on June 9
Al Jazeera, 9 April 2019 This was the sixth presidential election held since Kazakhstan's independence. The elections were not free and fair, and were widely denounced as a

sham Sham may refer to: Arabic use * Al-Sham or Shām (شام), the Arabic term for the Greater Syria region, known in English as the Levant or the eastern Mediterranean, which includes the modern countries of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Cyprus ...

. Acting president

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev (born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakhstani politician and diplomat who has served as the second president of Kazakhstan since 2019. He previously served as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 ...

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 the election. Originally scheduled for December 2020, when President

's fifth term was set to expire, the

snap election A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Snap elections in parliamentary systems are often called to resolve a political impasse such as a hung parliament where no single political party has a ma ...

s were announced on 9 April 2019, shortly after

acting president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or visiting abroad) or when the post is vacant (such as for death Death is the en ...

assumed office following Nazarbayev's resignation amidst anti-government protests. Nominations took place following the announcement of elections. Nine candidates expressed their interest, of which seven registered, making it the election with the largest number of presidential candidates in Kazakhstan's history. The nominees from political parties and public associations were acting president

, who became a candidate for the ruling

after endorsement from his predecessor Nazarbayev,

Amirjan Qosanov Amirjan Sagidrahmanuly Qosanov (, ; born 13 May 1964) is a Kazakh politician, journalist, political activist. He was a main challenger to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in the 2019 Kazakh presidential election. Early life, career Amirjan Qosanov was born ...

from the Ult Tagdyry movement, Jambyl Ahmetbekov from the Communist People's Party, Toleutai Raqymbekov from the

Auyl People's Democratic Patriotic Party The Auyl Party (; lit. 'Aul, Village', , ') is a political party in Kazakhstan. It was originally founded by Gani Qaliev on 30 January 2000 before eventually merging with the Party of Patriots of Kazakhstan on 5 September 2015. The party is curre ...

, Amangeldi Taspihov from the Federation of Trade Unions, Sadibek Tügel from the Uly Dala Qyrandary and Dania Espaeva from Aq Jol, the first Kazakh woman to officially participate in elections. Campaigning was focused on the issues of agriculture, environment, labour rights, social benefits, the market economy, the legacy of Nazarbayev's policies and the current political system, in which presidential candidates proposed solutions from further

democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an democratic transition, authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction ...

and

decommunization Decommunization in former communist states is the process of purging former communist high officials and eliminating communist symbols. It is sometimes referred to as political cleansing. Although the term has been occasionally used during t ...

to the development of the nation's values and agricultural industry. Tokayev's victory was marked as the first

peaceful transition of power A peaceful transition or transfer of power is a concept important to democracy, democratic governments in which the leadership of a government peacefully hands over control of government to a newly elected leadership. This may be after elections o ...

in Kazakhstan's history, despite challenges resulting from the

political unrest Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources. The branch of social science that studies politi ...

that took place in the streets of

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

and

Nur-Sultan Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...

. According to the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

(OSCE), "significant irregularities were observed on election day, including cases of ballot box stuffing, and a disregard of counting procedures meant that an honest count could not be guaranteed." "There were widespread detentions of peaceful protesters on election day in major cities", said the OSCE in their Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions. On 12 June 2019, Tokayev was sworn as president during a ceremony at the Palace of Independence in the capital,

. From there, he pledged to protect the interests of every citizen and consider any proposals and initiatives that would be put forward by political and community leaders.

Background

Re-election of Nazarbayev and post-economic crisis recovery

President

was elected for a fifth term in the

2015 Kazakh presidential election Snap presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan on 26 April 2015 to elect the President of Kazakhstan. This was the fifth presidential election held and second without having any formal opposition candidates. With the highest-ever nationwide ...

in the midst of an economic crisis. From there, he pledged economic reforms, political stability, inter-ethnic accord and social cohesion. Nevertheless, the Kazakh economy continued following the downward spiral caused by the

2010s oil glut The 2010s oil glut was a significant surplus of Petroleum, crude oil that started in 2014–2015 and accelerated in 2016, with multiple causes. They include general oversupply as Unconventional (oil & gas) reservoir, unconventional US and Canadi ...

and devaluation of the tenge to the point of Nazarbayev calling for a snap parliamentary election in January 2016 amidst fears of another oil price crash which would have severely impacted the economy. By the end of that year, Kazakhstan's GDP reached its lowest point of $137.3 billion with a 1.1% growth rate, making it the worst performance since 1998. However, things took a drastic turn the following year mainly due to the increase of the price of oil and the launch of the

Kashagan Field Kashagan Field (, ''Qaşağan ken orny'') is an offshore oil field in Kazakhstan's zone of the Caspian Sea. The field, discovered in 2000, is located in the northern part of the Caspian Sea close to Atyrau and is considered the world's largest d ...

which increased the output production of petroleum. Other economic activity such as in manufacturing, agriculture, transport, and trade sectors also experienced a regrowth. By the end of 2017, the GDP growth rate In Kazakhstan amounted to 4.1% and since then has remained stable from there.

Speculations of post-Nazarbayev succession

In September 2016, Nazarbayev reshuffled several cabinet positions and appointed his daughter

Dariga Nazarbayeva Dariğa Nūrsūltanqyzy Nazarbaeva (; born 7 May 1963) is a Kazakh businesswoman and politician who is the daughter of Nursultan Nazarbayev who was the President of Kazakhstan from 1990 to 2019. She was a member of the Mäjilis from 2004 to 200 ...

to the post of

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

, believed to be due to Uzbek President

Islam Karimov Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov (30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was an Uzbek politician who served as the first president of Uzbekistan, from the country's independence in 1991 until his death in 2016. He was the last First Secretary of the ...

's unexpected death who had no clear successor which led to a speculation of Nazarbayev's potential moves in having his daughter succeed him. In a November 2016 interview to the

Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...

, Nazarbayev said that he had no plans in handing over his succession to his children and mentioned that any transfer of power in the country is carried out by the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. In May 2018, 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 ...

approved a bill which granted Nazarbayev

life tenure A life tenure or service during good behaviour is a term of office that lasts for the office holder's lifetime, unless the office holder decides personally to resign or is removed from office because of misbehaving in office or due to extraordina ...

as Chairman of the

Security Council of Kazakhstan The Security Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Security Council RK, , ҚР Қауіпсіздік Кеңесі; , Совет безопасности РК, ''Sovet bezopasnosti RK'') is a constitutional advisory body of the Kazakh Government ...

. This granted him the control of the country's policies without holding the presidential office. Chair of the Senate

, in an interview with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

in June 2018, expressed doubts that Nazarbayev would seek another term in the election that would have been held in 2020. This created speculation that Nazarbayev was preparing to leave the presidency. Speculation on Nazarbayev's early resignation rearose on 4 February 2019, when he appealed to the Constitutional Council in regards to the provision on the early termination of the president's powers. Nazarbayev clarified that the appeal was an "absolutely routine issue", claiming that he was repeatedly asked on the provisions and that his appeal to the council was simply an explanatory issue. As a result, Nazarbayev urged public calm. On 19 March 2019, Nazarbayev announced his resignation, stating that

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Chair

would take over as

for the remainder of his term. However, on 9 April 2019, Tokayev announced that a snap election would be held on 9 June to avoid "political uncertainty."

Electoral system

The

is elected using the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

; if more than two presidential candidates are on the ballot and no-one receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round is held between the top two candidates no later than two months after the first round is held. If the presidential election is declared null and void or has not determined the winner, then the

Central Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

(CEC) may schedule a re-run election no later than two months after an initial vote is held. According to Article 41 of the Constitution, a citizen of Kazakhstan by birth must be at least 40 years old, have a minimum of five years of experience working in public service or elected positions, be fluent in the state language and have been a resident of Kazakhstan for the last 15 years to be elected and serve as president. The right in nominating presidential candidates under Article 55 of the Constitutional Law "On Elections" is reserved only for registered republican public associations. Article 51 of the Constitutional Law "On Elections" establishes the first Sunday of December as a general date for the presidential election. Therefore regular elections would have taken place on 6 December 2020 as Nazarbayev's five-year elected term from

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

was set to end by then.

Candidates

Nine candidates applied to the

to contest the elections. A record seven were registered to run, whilst one candidate withdrew and one was disqualified for not possessing sufficient knowledge of the

Kazakh language Kazakh is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia by Kazakhs. It is closely related to Nogai, Kyrgyz and Karakalpak. It is the official language of Kazakhstan, and has official status in the Altai Republic of Russia ...

.Kazakhstan: Election candidate dropped for poor Kazakh skills
Eurasia Net, 2 May 2019 A newly adopted law in 2017 made any contesting candidate to be required to have a higher education and five years of experience in the public service or in elected public office as well as an active participations in management of the affairs of the state directly and through their representatives, apply personally, and send individual and collective appeals to state and local governments.

Registered candidates

Candidates were required to collecting signatures of at least 1% of voters, equally representing at least 2/3 of the regions, cities of republican significance and the capital

. As of 1 January 2019, 11,814,019 citizens were included by the

(OSK) in the voter registration, thus 118,140 signatures would be needed to be collected in support of each candidate. The registration of proxies, as well as the procedure for verifying the authenticity of signatures with the participation of passport authorities, is carried out by Territorial Election Commissions. To be registered as presidential candidates, the nominees will need to submit to the CEC a certificate of the state revenue authority on the submission of the income and property declaration by him/her and the spouse as of the first day of the nomination month, i.e. on 1 April 2019, as well as a medical report on the state of his/her health. The candidate registration will last until 6:00 pm May 11 of this year. The candidate registration can be canceled by the CEC in case of detection by the state revenue authorities of the unreliability of information on income and property in the submitted declarations.

Unsuccessful nominees

* Talgat Yergaliyev ( Union of Builders of Kazakhstan), a former Member of the Mazhilis. Withdrew his candidacy. * Jumatai Aliev ( Halyq Demografiasy), Rector of Central Asian University. Rejected due to a failed Kazakh language test.

Nominations

Nomination of presidential candidates were held from 10 April to 28 April 2019. According to the Article 55 of the Constitutional Act "On elections", only registered public associations and

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

have a given right to nominate their candidates. The decision on nomination is taken by a majority of votes from the total number of members of the highest body of the republican public association. The compliance of a candidate with the requirements of the

and the Constitutional Act "On Elections" is carried out by the

within five days from the date of submission of an extract from the protocol of the meeting of the highest body of the republican public association after nominating the candidate, together with the candidate's consent to run for presidency and a document confirming that the candidate has paid the electoral contribution.

Uly Dala Qyrandary (UDQ)

On 17 April 2019, the public association Uly Dala Qyrandary nominated its co-chair and writer Sadibek Tügel for presidency. The nomination received no cover from the media and instead were a series of social media posts. Tügel pledged to promote ideas of spiritual revival and raising of Kazakh culture and focus on the importance of improvements in the socio-cultural sphere that were made possible under Nazarbayev's presidency. According to political analysts Orazğali Selteev, he described Tügel as the "1% candidate" (referring to how much vote share he'd get) whose a "harmless participant, with no pretensions."

Nur Otan (NO)

Shortly after President

's resignation, some talks arose that Nazarbayev's daughter, Dariga, who succeeded Tokayev as the Chair of the Senate, was expected to run in the election as a way to ensure her father's legacy. However, Dariga stated that she had no plans in joining the race. Other possible contender included

Imangali Tasmagambetov Imangali Nurgaliuly Tasmagambetov (, ; born 9 December 1956) is a Kazakh politician and diplomat, who is the current Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization since January 2023. He was the Kazakh Ambassador to Russia from ...

. On 23 April 2019, the 19th Nur Otan Extraordinary Congress was held in

which was attended 1,500 persons, including the 600 delegates. From there, Party Chairman

proposed to nominate acting president

for candidacy, calling him a "well-deserved candidate" that would follow "politics of friendship" and "equal rights of Kazakh citizens". Tokayev was unanimously chosen to be the nominee. From there, Tokayev spoke at the nomination congress, where he praised Nazarbayev and pledged to work hard for the prosperity of the nation. That same day, Tokayev appealed to the Constitutional Council for the clarification on the term of residence in Kazakhstan per electoral requirements during his time of work overseas as diplomat. On 25 April, the Council ruled that the 15-year period of residence also counts the periods of residence outside for Kazakhstani citizens who belong to the staff of the governmental diplomatic service.

= Potential nominees

= *

– Acting

since March 2019, Kazakh Senate Chairman from 2007 to 2011, 2013 to 2019,

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 1994 to 1999, 2002 to 2007,

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan The prime minister of Kazakhstan is the head of government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the holder of its fourth highest office, after the president of Kazakhstan, the chairman of Senate, and the chairman of Majilis. The prime minister hea ...

from 1999 to 2002. *

– Chairman of the Kazakh Senate (2019–2019),

Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan The Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan () is a member in the Government of Kazakhstan. The post is usually led by multiple people who carry out their activities in accordance with the policies established by the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and ...

(2015–2016), Deputy Chairman of the Mazhilis (2014–2015), MP of Mazhilis (2004–2007, 2012–2015), Asar party leader (2003–2006). *

– Kazakh ambassador to Russia (2017–2019),

(2016–2017, 2000–2002, 1995–1999),

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

(2014–2016), Äkim of Nur-Sultan (2008–2014), Äkim of Nur-Sultan (2004–2008),

State Secretary of Kazakhstan The State Counsellor of the Republic of Kazakhstan (; ), formerly the State Secretary of Kazakhstan (; ), is an appointed post under the direct supervision of the president of Kazakhstan. The state counsellor develops proposals for the president ...

(2004), head of

Presidential Administration of Kazakhstan The Executive Office of the President or the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan (; ) is an executive office of the President of Kazakhstan, established in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 2565 of Nursultan Nazarbayev o ...

(2003–2004), 5th

(2002–2003), Äkim of Atyrau Region (1999–2000). File:Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (2019-04-03) 04.jpg, Acting

File:Vladimir Putin and Imangali Tasmagambetov, 2017 (cropped).jpg, Kazakh ambassador to Russia

Federation of Trade Unions (QRKF)

At the meeting of the executive committee of the

Federation of Trade Unions of Kazakhstan The Federation of Trade Unions of Kazakhstan (FTUK) is a national trade union center in Kazakhstan. It has a membership of 1.5 million, and is the successor organization to the official trade unions of the communist era. FTUK is affiliated with t ...

(QRKF) was held at which the issue of nominating candidates for participation in the elections from the organisation was discussed. The members of the executive committee approved and submitted for consideration by the General Council on 23 April 2019 two candidates: former Mazhilis MP Muqtar Tinikeev and QRKF deputy chairman Amangeldi Taspihov. The following day on 24 April 2019, the QRKF General Council nominated Taspihov as presidential candidate after Tinikeev recused himself, due to his lack of knowledge of Kazakh per registrational requirement.

Ak Zhol Democratic Party (AJ)

In regards to snap presidential elections, the

Ak Zhol Democratic Party The Aq Jol (, ), officially the "Aq Jol" Democratic Party of Kazakhstan (, ) is a liberal-conservative political party in Kazakhstan. The Aq Jol is led by Azat Peruaşev, a deputy of the Mäjilis. The Aq Jol party was formed in early 2002, afte ...

(AJ) Chairman

Azat Peruashev Azat (; plural ազատք ''azatkʿ'', collective ազատանի ''azatani'') was a class of Armenian nobility; the term came to designate the middle and lower nobility originally, in contrast to the '' naxarark'' who were the great lords. From ...

expressed Nazarbayev's intent in letting Tokayev serving his unfinished term as "a normal international practice" that "corresponds to the best models of democratic states." From there, he used example of U.S. President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

whom served as president after the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

before being elected. Nevertheless, Peruashev thanked Tokayev for his decision to hold snap elections, noting his commitment for it to be "transparent and fair". Amongst the contenders from the party, Talgat Erğaliev and Dania Espaeva were seen as the possible frontrunners. Peruashev refused to join the race, stating that the need for the Ak Zhol to have new faces and competition which would encourage the development of the party. At the 15th Extraordinary Congress on 24 April 2019, Espaeva received 49.5% of the delegate vote. A decision at the presidium was made to hold the vote without a second round which resulted in Espaeva garnering 170 votes with 15 against, thus becoming the first woman in Kazakhstan's history to be nominated for presidency.

= Potential nominees

= *

– Mazhilis MP since 2012,

chairman since 2011, First Secretary of the Civic Party of Kazakhstan from 1998 to 2006. * Talgat Erğaliev – Mazhilis MP since 2012, chairman of the Union of Builders from 2010. * Dania Espaeva – Mazhilis MP since 2016. File:Peruashev, October 2016.jpg, Mazhilis MP

File:Talgat Yergaliyev.jpg, Mazhilis MP
Talgat Erğaliev File:Espaeva.jpg, Mazhilis MP
Dania Espaeva

Nationwide Social Democratic Party (JSDP)

The Nationwide Social Democratic Party (JSDP) subsequently after Nazarbayev's resignation issued a statement which called for fair and open presidential and parliamentary elections, a national dialogue between the authorities and society on the constitutional

of the political system, and to ensure the security and stability during

and after. On 22 April 2019, the JSDP Political Council announced that it would convene in a party congress and proposed Ermurat Bapi as a possible presidential nominee for the JSDP. On 26 April 2019, the party at the 14th Congress in

announced that it would backdown and not participate in the presidential race in which according to JSDP deputy chairman Ashat Raqymjanov, was due to integrity of their holding and the short time given to prepare and conduct the campaign citing large financial strain. He noted that the party would focus its attention in the next parliamentary elections.

Communist People's Party (QKHP)

The

Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan The People's Party of Kazakhstan is a left-wing social democratic political party in Kazakhstan, chaired by Ermūhamet Ertısbaev. The secretaries of the central committee are Turgyn Syzdyqov, Gauhar Nugmanova, Viktor Smirnov and Jambyl Ahmetb ...

(QKHP) announced its interest to participate in the election at the party's Politburo meeting.

Parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...

QKHP Aiqyn Qongyrov called Tokayev's move as a "logical decision", citing that "people need stability, so that there will be a person who will run the country in the next five years." Qongyrov was highly seen as a possible front-runner from the QKHP. In an interview to Tengrinews.kz, Qongyrov expressed his interest to run for presidency, noting he would rule out his choice based on the party's decision. At the 14th QKHP Extraordinary Congress, Secretary Jambyl Ahmetbekov, who previously contested in the 2011 presidential election was nominated again by the party in presidential race on 26 April 2019. Qongyrov at the congress, stated that each presidential nominee from the QKHP receives more and more support in which he used examples from the past races starting from

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

where the party slowly went up its ranking in terms of vote place.

= Potential nominees

= * Jambyl Ahmetbekov – Mazhilis MP since 2012, Secretary of the QKHP from 2007. * Aiqyn Qongyrov – QKHP

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...

since 2018, Secretary of the QKHP from 2013, Mazhilis MP from 2012. File:Qongyrov, May 2019 (cropped).jpg, Mazhilis MP and QKHP

Aiqyn Qongyrov File:Ahmetbekov (2017-02-01).jpg, Mazhilis MP Jambyl Ahmetbekov

Ult Tagdyry (UT)

At the press conference held in

, the public association Ult Tagdyry (UT) nominated

for presidency on 26 April 2019. Despite not being part of the organisation, Qosanov called it an "honour" and, if elected, proposed to hold a constitutional meeting. His nomination by all UT members except for the chairman Dos Koshim who abstained the vote, but called it worth in nominating a candidate.

Union of Builders (QQO)

Failed

(AJ) nominee and head of Union of Builders of Kazakhstan (QQO) Talgat Erğaliev nominated himself as a presidential candidate for the QQO association and submitted his documents to the

(OSK) for registration on 27 April 2019. However, after pressure from Ak Zhol and its chairman

whom Erğaliev met with, it was announced on 28 April that Erğaliev would be withdrawing from the race and instead support Dania Espaeva's campaign which received positive remarks from Peruashev himself, calling Erğaliev's act as "solid" and "masculine".

Halyq Demografiasy (HD)

On 26 April 2019, the Halyq Demografiasy public association nominated its head Jumatai Aliev as candidate for presidency. Aliev submitted his documents to the

(OSK) on 28 April.

Campaign

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev

In the start of the campaign, an official electoral programme published in Tokayev's website under the title: ''"Well-being for all! Continuity. Justice. Progress."'' which consisted three sections of the platforms with total of 170 outlined tasks. In ''"Succession"'', it emphasized strengthening of independence, sovereignty and national security–that is stability, civil peace and harmony. Tokayev called for an increase in incomes and improve the quality of life of the country's citizens. In ''"Justice"'', Tokayev stressed the need in creating opportunities for every citizen in order to achieve personal success and improve their well-being. In the ''"Progress"'', called for the creative change in society with Tokayev proclaiming progress as being "our idea." He pledged to continue his predecessor

's policies in implementing the social programs, setting path for Kazakhstan's entry into the top 30 most developed countries in the world, to further implement Five Institutional Reforms–Plan of the Nation programme which would bring the nation to a new level of sustainable development, strengthening domestic political stability and social cohesion and stimulating the business activity of the population as well as eliminating intolerance and extremism, strengthen domestic political stability and social harmony, develop civil society, protections of rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of citizens, guaranteed safety of every person, protection of private property, support of domestic business, ensure the security of investments, stimulate the business activity of the population, protect national interests in the political, trade, economic, cultural, humanitarian spheres and implement a balanced, constructive foreign policy. Tokayev was mocked on social media for the overuse of modification of his official photos, which allegedly erased his wrinkles and double chin.

Amirjan Qosanov

became the first opposition candidate since

to contest the presidential race. He called for more political freedoms, national identity, stronger sovereignty, friendlier economy to people, and development of various regions throughout the country. Qosanov brought up several environmental issues which included the drying of

Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...

and the city of

Semey Semey (; , formerly known as Semipalatinsk ( ) until 2007 and as Alash-Qala ( ) from 1917 to 1920, is a city in eastern Kazakhstan, in the Kazakh part of Siberia. When Abai Region was created in 2022, Semey became its administrative centre. I ...

which suffered the impacts of nuclear testing in

Semipalatinsk Semey (; , formerly known as Semipalatinsk ( ) until 2007 and as Alash-Qala ( ) from 1917 to 1920, is a city in eastern Kazakhstan, in the Kazakh part of Siberia. When Abai Region was created in 2022, Semey became its administrative centre. I ...

during the Soviet Union. Qosanov pledged to continue the nation's multivector foreign policy although he expressed his support for stronger relations with

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. He also ran on a platform in fighting against corruption, reducing the powers of the president, allowing direct elections of äkıms ''(local heads)'', making the Kazakh economy less dependent on raw resources, and prohibiting the construction of nuclear power plants. Qosanov was the only candidate to criticise the government. In spire of that, he received backlash and accusations amongst other opposition groups for allegedly collaborating with the authorities such as having campaign staff with a record of having pro-government views and to some extent being supporters of it; Qosanov dismissed these claims as being "rumours". It was viewed that Qosanov wouldn't win the election and instead was being used to legitimise it whilst the opposition called for boycott rather than to support Qosanov in the polls.

Dania Espaeva

Ak Zhol presidential nominee Dania Espaeva outlined three challenges for her campaign: a market economy, democracy and social justice. Espaeva ran a

pro-business A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a market ...

platform. Proclaiming herself as "a firm supporter of small and medium-sized businesses", she promoted competition and entrepreneurship and called for a reduction in banking interest rates, end in de-offshorisation and tax rates for important industries such as in mechanical engineering as well as creation of new industries in rural areas. In regards to corruption and low public trust in judicial system, Espaeva obliged to protect citizens from extortion of businesses by the authorities whom she called for them to be held accountable. Espaeva emphasised Kazakhstan's independence as a key value, telling that "our people, our land and its wealth that we inherited from our ancestors, our state language and the unity of our multinational society." She supported decolonising the public through renaming objects, streets and settlements, required exams on knowledge of the

Constitution of Kazakhstan The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the highest law of Kazakhstan, as stated in Article 4. The Constitution was approved by a constitutional referendum on 30 August 1995. Throughout the campaign, Espaeva was compared to

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

in social media due to her speeches and proposed policies.

Toleutai Raqymbekov

Toleutai Raqymbekov, presidential nominee for the agrarian

, campaigned on two issues: agriculture and tradition. He stressed the issue in Kazakhstan's society where young people are forced to leave villages and move into the cities, creating an unequal composition of the country's population between rural and urban areas. In order to solve this, Raqymbekov proposed to minimise the inequality between urban and rural population by developing rural infrastructure and implementing improvement measures for living standards in village residents by teaching them practical skills to organise their own businesses with a provided access to "long and cheap money", optimising social assistance, improving medical services and determining the main rural development trends and needs. Raqymbekov mostly campaigned for rural issues and proposed solution in improving agricultural economy by which would help Kazakhstan to compete worldwide with its important exports and noting it would create more jobs in the villages by attracting young specialists and prevent the fleeing into urban cities. He also stated that a modernised Kazakhstan wouldn't be possible taking into account the history and culture of the people, understanding the origins of ethnic development, and its primary spiritual and moral values of culture.

Amangeldi Taspihov

Amangeldi Taspihov's election platform included five main directives of which were: creating business reforms, ensured safe workplaces, increased workers’ rights, establish higher salaries and the fifth is to re-examine regulations concerning migrant labour. Taspihov sought to earn support from middle class by campaigning for safe working conditions, labour rights protections and decent living wages for people earning average. He also called for regulation in the job market by having any foreign worker's job whose visa stay has expired by replace by Kazakhstani citizen as well as improvements in education system to train new specialists to work without needing migrant workers. Taspihov took

Auyl The Auyl Party (; lit. 'Aul, Village', , ') is a political party in Kazakhstan. It was originally founded by Gani Qaliev on 30 January 2000 before eventually merging with the Party of Patriots of Kazakhstan on 5 September 2015. The party is curre ...

nominee Toleutai Raqymbekov's similar stance in creating more jobs in rural areas to prevent the outflow of the population. He proposed to develop a Safe Labour state programme that would force employers to create safe workplaces and in turn, they would receive tax benefits and subsidies for infrastructure and that any employer caught violating the code, would be faced with criminal charges.

Jambyl Ahmetbekov

(QKHP) nominee Jambyl Ahmetbekov's main platforms were on labour and political rights. Ahmetbekov campaigned through

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

approach by calling prosecution of oligarchs living abroad, mainly referring to exiled Kazakh businessman

Mukhtar Ablyazov Mukhtar Qabyluly Ablyazov (, ''Mūhtar Qabylūly Äbliazov''; born 16 May 1963) is a Kazakh businessman and political activist who served as chairman of Bank Turan Alem (BTA Bank), and is a co-founder and a leader of the unregistered political ...

whom he accused of stealing government's budget that's used to fund social services. He expressed his support for free education, healthcare, pension payments, and a guaranteed right for work, rest and housing and noted that attention would be paid towards spiritual sphere, science, culture and morality. Ahmetbekov also called for higher taxes on the rich and an end to poverty. Ahmetbekov criticised

westernization Westernization (or Westernisation, see spelling differences), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt what is considered to be Western culture, in areas such as industr ...

, claiming it brought harm to Kazakhstan's society such as pornography and gambling addiction. In combating the situation, Ahmetbekov proposed for Kazakhstan's own version of

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

in which certain deemed "harming content" would be regulated in spite of his earlier oblige to support freedom of speech, democratic organisations and movements and opposition media in his electoral programme.

Sadibek Tügel

Sadibek Tügel based his campaign on

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

where talked about the preservation of nation's values and traditions by rejecting

western culture Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...

. He proposed in implementing a ban on night clubs and marriage to foreigners. Tügel discussed the issues of Kazakhstan's demographics which he obliged for young people aged under 25 to start families. In political issues, Tügel's platform consisted of nine main points: protecting people's honour and dignity, improving the country's demographics, supporting Kazakh diaspora whom are willing to return, strengthening the role of the

, modernisation and development of

Alash Autonomy The Alash Autonomy, also known as Alash Orda, was an unrecognized Kazakh proto-state located in Central Asia and was part of the Russian Republic, and then Soviet Russia. The Alash Autonomy was founded in 1917 by Kazakh elites, and disestabli ...

ideologies, end in corruption, fixation in unemployment,

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

for corrupt officials, nationalisation of resources, as well as a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

for new

. Tügel positioned himself as reformer and called for

within the political system such as the direct elections of äkıms ''(local heads)'' in all levels, a national

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

in which the candidates for MP's could self-nominate themselves.

Others

Despite not nominating its candidate, the Nationwide Social Democratic Party (JSDP) called for boycott of the polls as a protest, in which the party members claimed that it is the participation of "puppet" candidates proposed by pro-government parties to help secure an election victory for acting president

from the ruling

party.

, leader of the banned

Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

movement, supported the initiative in boycotting the elections, calling them "illegal" and in response, he urged everyone to attend mass protests all over the country during the election day. On 1 May 2019, at the

International Workers' Day International Workers' Day, also called Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of Wage labour, labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every yea ...

, dozens of Kazakhstani citizens took the streets calling for the release of political prisoners and boycott in the upcoming presidential elections. An estimated 80 persons were detained that day. An organising committee of the People's Kurultai consisting of the Kazakh opposition was formed in the city of

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. From there, the participants called for boycott in the polls, stating that the election is "illegitimate" and that according to political activist Aidos Sadyqov, the purpose of the authorities for elections is to create an "illusion of democracy" within the country and to show the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

that there are so forms of alternative choices contrary to more dictatorial countries such as

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

and neighboring

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. Ermek Narymbai, leader of the Şyndyq-Honesty movement took a different stance regarding the elections. He urged people to vote for opposition

candidate, citing the reason as way to vote against ruling candidate

although admitting at not being supporter of Qosanov. As for people boycotting, Narymbai called for them to observe the polls which would help them to record the number of participants in the boycott.

Debates

On 14 May 2019, a televised debate was announced between the candidates. It was held on 29 May and was broadcast live on the Khabar TV channel. The cost of the event amounted to 41 million tenge. Four presidential candidates: Jambyl Ahmetbekov,

, Amangeldi Taspihov and Sadibek Tügel participated in the debates and the rest of the three candidates were represented by

for Dania Espaeva, Äli Bektaev for Toleutai Raqymbekov, and

Mäulen Äşimbaev Maulen Sagatkhanovich Ashimbayev (, , , born 28 January 1971) is a Kazakh politician who is serving as a member and chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan. He served as the First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration from 2019 to 2020, Assi ...

for

. The debate was divided into three rounds. In the first round, all participants were asked about the development of the education system in Kazakhstan, in the second round about social modernisation of Kazakhstan, and in the third round, the candidates were allowed to ask questions to two other participants in the debate.

Controversies

Preparations and claims of voter pressure

As part of the collection of signatures by candidates, violations were observed. In one of the higher educational institutions, it was proposed to sign the sheets on which the candidate's data were not indicated. In May 2019, ''The Village'' agency published an article about receiving anonymous complains by university students in being pressured to vote. According to the statements, many of the campuses postponed the educational semesters to June in expense for students to show up at the polls, otherwise they'd face possible expulsion or systemic academic problems. ''The Village'' correspondents attempted to contact the universities for response to the issues in which only the Almaty University of Power Engineering and Telecommunications admitted that the semester postponement–was in fact–due to upcoming elections.

Political pressure and crackdowns

According to the Kazakh law, it is prohibited to conduct polls that do not meet the requirements. Such violations include conducting them on social media, which two citizens were fined for.

Internet blockages

On 9 May 2019, at the

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

, reports of internet blockages occurred with many news website such as ''Radio Azattyq'' and ''

Ferghana Information Agency The Ferghana Information Agency is a certified Russian media outlet, serving the central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former tra ...

'' being inaccessible to the public as well as social media sites such as

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. This move occurred allegedly after exiled Kazakh banker and leader of the

called on people to protest that day. Johann Bihr, head of ''

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

''' Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk criticised the incident, telling that "There is no justification for this massive obstruction of the Kazakh public’s right to information." He called on the Kazakh authorities to abandon the "repressive practices from an earlier era" for their reformist discourse to viewed credible, noting that

internet censorship Internet censorship is the legal control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the Internet. Censorship is most often applied to specific internet domains (such as ''Wikipedia.org'', for example) but exceptionally may ...

is one of the reasons why Kazakhstan is ranked 158th in the

Press Freedom Index The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) is an annual ranking of Country, countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2002 based upon the non-governmental organization's own assessment of the countries' Freedom of the ...

, a position which gives the nation a "bad international image".

Invitations

A few days before the elections, all residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, according to the rules, should have received from the city and regional election commissions a personal paper invitation to the "Presidential Election-2019" with the name of the voter, address and number of the polling station. However, for unknown reasons, many residents of the largest city in the country

did not receive their invitations to the elections for the first time in the entire history of elections.

Opinion polls

On 6 May 2019, the

(OSK) published a notice regarding the reports of political polls being conducted online. The OSK noted that in accordance with the law, it is prohibited to publish reports of electoral polling five days prior to election day and that the right to conducting them was reserved only for two organisations: Qoğamdyq Pıkır Institute and the Jastar Research and Development Center LLP. According to political scientist Dosym Satpaev, polling within the country can be easily distorted in all levels of government. In his opinion, the reason for the suppression of polls is due to prevent the means of struggle between political elites and to create illusion for the public that the government being viewed with positivity with less distrust of election results due to a lack of independent polling.

Observation

As of 6 May 2019, several election observation missions have declared their interest. Amongst them were the CIS, the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member States, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian politics, political, economy, economic, international security and Defence (military), defence organization of ten member states. It was established in 2001 by the China, People's Republic ...

and the

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, 57 member s ...

. On 15 May, for observers from the NGO's of Almaty and 12 ethnocultural centers of the

Assembly of People of Kazakhstan The Assembly of People of Kazakhstan () is a national political body in Kazakhstan consisting of delegates of the Regional Assemblies of the People. Its task is to represent the various ethnic groups that make up the Central Asian state at nation ...

, students of city universities, training was conducted on the basis of the civil platform Amanat. In total, it is planned to train at least 10,000 independent observers under this program. As of 31 May, the number of observers from international organizations and foreign states is 967 people, and the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

has accredited 227 foreign correspondents from more than 40 countries of the world. During the presidential elections, 19 violations were revealed.

OSCE

On 8 May 2019, the

(OSCE) mission to observe the presidential elections in Kazakhstan was opened. The team of observers, according to the head of the mission, Urszula Gacek, included experts from Great Britain, Spain, Germany, Belarus, Poland, who would work not only before the elections, but also after. A total of 22 long-term observers were registered in the mission. According to the mission's interim report on 24 May, the election campaign is subtle and limited to campaign posters and billboards. Campaigning is strictly regulated and candidates can hold public meetings or events only with the permission of local authorities, an application for which must be submitted 10 days before the planned event.

CIS

On 20 May 2019, the mission of the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

(CIS) was opened. According to the CIS executive secretary, Viktor Guminsky, it was assumed that the mission from the CIS will include about 300 observers. They will represent all the countries of the commonwealth. To date, about 90 representatives of the Commonwealth countries have already applied for accreditation. These applications continue to come in. So far, applications have been officially received from four countries: Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, as well as from the IPA CIS. Long-term observers will work with about 20 people from the diplomatic corps accredited in

, as well as the CIS executive committee.

Conduct

Violations

During the election day, the Prosecutor General's Office identified 19 revealed violations, and initiated cases of an administrative offense. Of these, 12 violations were related to the issuance of ballots by a member of a precinct election commission to citizens for voting for other persons, 6 violations were related to the fact that some voters wanted to vote instead of another voter. Independent observers and journalists recorded numerous election violations such as stuffing, use of disappearing ink, and voting for other people on video.

Results

Aftermath

Protests

After preliminary results were announced, protests were reported in both Nur-Sultan and Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan. Deputy Interior Minister Marat Kozhayev announced that 500 people had been taken into custody, while

, the leader of opposition group the

, claimed that there were "thousands of protesters" in the

Astana Square Astana Square () or Old Square, formerly known as Red Square and Lenin Square, is a city square in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It is the second largest square in Kazakhstan, after Republic Square, Almaty, Republic Square. It hosts many public events, conce ...

of Almaty.

Response by authorities

According to the Kazakh government, the protests were caused by attempts to destabilize the social situation on the part of radical elements by organizing and conducting unauthorized actions. The authorities considered the protest actions agitated by foreign "leaders of extremist organizations", referring mainly to the former Kazakh politician and opposition leader

and his movement

, which was declared as an extremist organization in March 2018. Ablyazov was the first to call for boycott in the election and instead hold a protest. In 2009, the Kazakh authorities charged Ablyazov with abuse and fraud and removed him from his post as head of

BTA Bank BTA Bank () (''BTA Bank Joint-Stock Company'' in full) is a Kazakhstan bank with headquarters in Almaty. it was the third largest lender by assets. In 2009, BTA Bank was subject of one of the world's biggest financial frauds totaling US$5 bill ...

, causing him to flee the country and was eventually convicted in absentee in the country.

Protesters' response

The protesters considered the elections to be unfair and undemocratic, and their results were predetermined. They also protested against the change in the name of the capital and the current government, which, in their opinion, is still in the hands of ex-President

, and that his successor

is only his “political puppet”. Ablyazov's supporters believed that the falsely accused him of fraud in order to arrest him due to political reasons and why his movement was declared as illegal in the country.

International observers

International observers from the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

considered that the elections did not demonstrate a democratic authenticity with reported cases of

ballot stuffing Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

and that Kazakhstan still needs significant political, social and legal reforms to strengthen democracy, human rights and freedoms, they stated that they are always ready to cooperate with Kazakhstan for carrying out such actions. The observers from the CIS stated that they did not observe any protest actions and detentions, while the OSCE, on the contrary, watched the protests and considered the actions of the Kazakh authorities to be clear violations of the foundations of freedom and democracy and disrespect for their own people. The OSCE observers stayed in Kazakhstan for another week due to concerns about the fate of the protesters.

International reactions

Countries

* –

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan (born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician who is serving as the 16th and current Prime Minister of Armenia, prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

congratulated Tokayev, wishing him success in implementation of all goals for the "sake of peace, progress and prosperity of the good people of Kazakhstan." * –

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

in his letter congratulated Tokayev on his victory, stating that the relations between both countries stem from the "common history, national-spiritual roots of our peoples" and expressed his hope to develop inter-state relations and strategic partnerships based on foundation and deepened cooperation in bilateral and multilateral order. * – Prince

Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (born 21 October 1969) is Crown Prince of Bahrain, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain. He is also the deputy supreme commander of the Bahrain Defence Force. Early life and education Prince Salman ...

congratulated Tokayev, where he wished him good health and happiness as well as further progress and prosperity on Kazakh people. * –

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

sent a congratulatory letter to Tokayev upon his victory, expressing confidence in his political wisdom and rich life experience will contribute to the further development of Kazakhstan, growth of welfare in its citizens and the strengthening of a common Eurasian home. * – President

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...

congratulated Tokayev's victory, assuring his readiness to open up the future for the stable and long-lasting development between two countries. * –

Sooronbay Jeenbekov Sooronbay Sharip uulu Jeenbekov (born 16 November 1958) is a Kyrgyzstani politician who served as the fifth president of Kyrgyzstan from 2017 until his resignation in 2020, following a week of protests. Prior to that he served as the Prime Minist ...

during a phone call congratulated Tokayev. During the conversion, the two leaders reaffirmed their firm intention to further strengthen the relations between two nations, based on good neighborliness and friendship between the peoples. * –

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 3 June 1980) is Emir of Qatar, reigning since 2013. Tamim is the fourth son of former emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, born to his second spouse, Moza bint Nasser, Moza bint Nassir. He became heir ...

Emir of Qatar The Emir of the State of Qatar () is the monarch and head of state of the country. The emir is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and guarantor of the Constitution. The emir holds the most powerful position in the country, and has a ...

, sent a congratulatory letter to Tokayev upon his victory. * – Russian ambassador to Kazakhstan Aleksey Borodavkin on the behalf of the President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

, congratulated Tokayev during the meeting, noting the huge voter turnout as a "convincing evidence" that Kazakhstanis chose Tokayev as president. From there, the issues of further deepening of allied relations and cooperation between the two countries within the framework of international organisations were discussed. * – Tajik President

Emomali Rahmon Emomali Rahmon ( ; born 5 October 1952), born Emomali Sharipovich Rahmanov, is a Tajik politician who has served as the President of Tajikistan since 1994, having previously led the country as Chairman of the Supreme Assembly (Tajikistan), Su ...

congratulated Tokayev on his victory in a phone call where both heads of state expressed confidence in further development of the partnership between two countries. * –

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

sent a telegram to Tokayev, congratulating for his electoral win in which he described the results as an "important indicator of continuity and political stability in the country." Erdoğan in a letter also praised former president

for reaching high level relations between two nations on basis of the merit in historic and ancient friendship. * –

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957) is a Turkmen politician and former dentist who is currently the chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan. He previously served as the second president of Turkmenistan from ...

phoned Tokayev, congratulating him on his victory, wishing good health, prosperity and great success at the highest state post. During the telephone conversation, the two sides discussed the priority areas of bilateral cooperation. * –

Shavkat Mirziyoyev Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician who has served as President of Uzbekistan and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan since 14 December 2016. Previously, Mirziyoyev led the gover ...

, the

President of Uzbekistan The president of the Republic of Uzbekistan () is the head of state and executive authority in Uzbekistan. The office of President was established in 1991, replacing the position of Chairperson of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Uzb ...

, during a telephone conversion congratulated Tokayev. From there, both parties discussed the topic of bilateral cooperation between two countries.

Organisations

* –

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

President

Donald Tusk Donald Franciszek Tusk (born 22 April 1957) is a Polish politician and historian who has served as the prime minister of Poland since 2023, previously holding the office from 2007 to 2014. Tusk served as the president of the European Council (20 ...

sent a congrats letter to Tokayev, saying that the European Union looks forward in deepening bilateral cooperation with Kazakhstan and wishing Tokayev success in his term in office.

Notes

References

{{Kazakhstan elections

Presidential Presidential may refer to: * "Presidential" (song), a 2005 song by YoungBloodZ * Presidential Airways (charter), an American charter airline based in Florida * Presidential Airways (scheduled), an American passenger airline active in the 1980s * ...

Presidential elections in Kazakhstan

Electoral fraud in Kazakhstan