Kazakhstan’s ruling party cements its grip on parliament

Nur Otan, Kazakhstan’s ruling party, surprised none by topping preliminary results in Kazakhstan’s January 10 parliamentary elections. According to the Central Election Commission, Nur Otan, led by First President Nursultan Nazarbayev — captured 71.1 percent in the election. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said: “lacked genuine competition.”

Both with seats in the previous parliament, two other parties cleared the 7 percent threshold to secure seats — Ak Zhol (Bright Path) and the People’s Party (formerly the Communist People’s Party).

The exact seat breakdown has not been announced, but Nur Otan held 84 seats in the previous parliament, with Ak Zhol and the People’s Party holding seven seats. The new parliament will have a similar breakdown, heavily weighted toward Nur Otan.

The OSCE said the election campaign was not competitive and that voters “had no genuine political alternatives to choose from” as “all political parties contesting the elections supported the ruling party’s policies.”