Voting Begins In Kazakh Elections Marred By Exclusion Of Opposition, Attacks On Media

Voting has begun in elections for Kazakhstan's new, unicameral parliament -- but opposition groups have been excluded from the vote in a tightly-controlled process that follows changes to the country's constitution.

Seven state-vetted parties are contesting the election while opposition groups were denied the status of political parties under legislation used to exclude them.

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The political field is also restricted outside the ballot.

Under the election-monitoring rules, domestic nongovernmental groups receiving direct or indirect foreign funding cannot observe inside polling stations.

This has left independent Kazakh watchdogs outside the official monitoring process.

The authorities say 777 foreign observers are accredited, many representing regional organizations including the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), whose interim report noted the absence of genuine opposition parties and independent candidates and concerns over restrictions on political expression, is also observing the vote.

More than 70 parliamentarians and staff from around 30 countries are deploying as part of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly observation mission, its 13th election observation mission in Kazakhstan since 1994.

The OSCE has criticized all of the elections held in this period, noting a lack of genuine political competition in an authoritarian country dominated for decades by presidents Nursultan Nazarbaev (1991-2019) and his successor as head of state, Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev.

The vote is also taking place amid pressure on independent media.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, five prominent journalists have been jailed or convicted since mid-July, while criminal cases have been opened against two others. Several have also been barred from practicing journalism.

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The CEC is expected to release preliminary results on August 24, with final results due within seven days. Separately, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) will present its preliminary findings on August 24.

The vote follows constitutional changes approved in a March referendum that replaced the previous bicameral parliament with a single chamber, the Kurultai.

The Adilet party, which absorbed the former ruling party’s political structures as a new vehicle for the post-Nazarbaev era, is expected to dominate the first Kurultai.

A nationwide poll by the Kazakhstan Institute of Public Development put the party at 70.2 percent support, positioning it to further cement Toqaev's grip on power.