ASTANA: Kazakhstan’s ruling party secured nearly a two-thirds majority in the Central Asian country’s parliament, according to final vote results published on Monday.
President Kassym Jomart Tokayev called the snap election held earlier this month in the vast ex-Soviet nation as he decided to turn the page after deadly riots in 2022.
A new system was introduced for these polls, with sixty-nine deputies — out of the 98 in the lower house of parliament, Majlis — elected by proportional representation.
The first-past-the-post system elected the other twenty-nine. Independent candidates on the ballot contested elections for the first time in nearly two decades.
Members of the ruling Amanat party will take sixty-two seats in the Majilis, according to the country’s Election Commission.
Parties in Kazakhstan parliament
A total of 6 parties will be represented in parliament compared to 3 in the current one, but opposition parties were barred from the polls.
The five other parties will have between four and eight deputies, while independent candidates will secure seven seats.
Following the polls, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe welcomed progress in Kazakhstan’s parliamentary system. However, it said more democratic reforms were required.
The organization noted that the voting “was organized smoothly overall, but considerable procedural irregularities were observed.
