Opposition Says Kazakhstan At Risk Of Dictatorship
December 02, 2005
Campaign posters in Astana (file photo) (epa)
At a rally in the southeastern city of Almaty on 1 December, opposition candidate Zharmakhan Tuyakbai accused President Nursultan Nazarbaev of enriching himself and his family at the expense of the country's wealth.
In an interview with AFP, the leader of the For a Just Kazakhstan group also said Kazakhstan would become one of the "worst countries in the world like North Korea and Turkmenistan" if Nazarbaev is re-elected.
Meanwhile in the capital Astana on 1 December, Nazarbaev outlined the priority directions of the country's development for the next seven years.
Speaking at the parliament's upper house, he named among these tasks the country's industrialization and preparation of the agriculture sector for entering the World Trade Organization.
He also called for the improvement of the people's living standards and further liberalization of the civil society.
Nazarbaev is widely expected to win a new seven-year term in the 4 December vote.
(AFP/AP/ITAR-TASS)