Monday, February 13, 2012

Kazakhstan

Kazakh President Registered As Candidate

President Nazarbaev (file photo)

7 October 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Kazakhstan's central electoral commission today said incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbaev has been registered as a presidential candidate for the 4 December vote.

TEXT SIZE - +

October 07, 2005

Earlier this week, the commission said it was considering 13 applications for the right to stand in the poll.

A total of 18 people submitted bids. Five were disqualified for failing to meet Kazakh language requirements.

The commission has until 24 October to check through the applications. To receive final approval, candidates must provide the signatures of 86,000 electors.

Campaigning for the election officially begins on 25 October.

Nazarbaev, who has run the republic since Soviet times, is seen as likely to win another term.

His main challenger is Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, leader of the pro-democracy opposition For a Fair Kazakhstan bloc.

(RFE/RL's Kazakh Service/ITAR-TASS)

See also:

Kazakhstan: President Shows He's Ready For Reelection Campaign

Kazakhstan: Can Opposition Compete In Presidential Elections?

Production and distribution of rap music is not officially banned, but it

Yo! Turkmen Rappers Flip The Script On Repression

For a growing number of Turkmen youth, rap music has become a way to express their daily struggles and inspire political change in one of the world's most oppressive countries. More

A woman relaxes underneath a photo of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov at the resort of Avaza.

Turkmenistan's Personality Cult 2.0

Turkmen Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov appears to be building a personality cult to match that of his eccentric predecessor. More

Myalikguly Berdymukhammedov, the father of Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, in a September 2009 television appearance

Keeping Up With The Berdymukhammedovs

Reports say a police unit in Turkmenistan this week was named after the father of President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. State-run media reportedly describe it as a gesture to honor Myalikguly Berdymukhammedov's years of service to Turkmenistan's Interior Ministry and "his efforts in educating the younger generation." More