Kazakhstani legislative election, 2007
Encyclopedia
A parliamentary election was held in Kazakhstan
on 18 August 2007. 107 seats were at stake in the Majilis
, an increase of 30, following recently passed constitutional amendments. Under the changes, 98 deputies were elected by party lists, an increase from just 10 in the last legislature. The remaining nine seats are reserved for the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan
. The President's party, Nur-Otan
, received about 88% of the vote and won all of the available seats. None of the six other parties contesting the election reached the 7% threshold to win seats. The election was described on state television as "a real step towards democracy", although the opposition Nationwide Social Democratic Party
, which received almost 5% of the vote, denounced the election, and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe observers said the election showed some progress, but was also marred by problems, saying that "in over 40 percent of the polling stations visited, [vote counting] was described as bad or very bad", which was worse than in the last parliamentary and presidential elections. Bias in the state media was also considered a problem.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
on 18 August 2007. 107 seats were at stake in the Majilis
Majilis
The Majilis is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Kazakhstan, known as the Parlamenti, in the Government of Kazakhstan. The upper house of Parliament is the Senate of Kazakhstan. There are 77 seats, 67 in single seat constituencies and 10 by proportional representation, in the Majilis...
, an increase of 30, following recently passed constitutional amendments. Under the changes, 98 deputies were elected by party lists, an increase from just 10 in the last legislature. The remaining nine seats are reserved for the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan
Assembly of People of Kazakhstan
The Assembly of People of Kazakhstan is a national political body in Kazakhstan consisting of delegates of the Regional Assemblies of the People...
. The President's party, Nur-Otan
Nur-Otan
Nur Otan is the largest political party in Kazakhstan with over 762,000 members. Since 2007 it is headed by President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev Nazarbayev's predecessor in the party was Bakhytzhan Zhumagulov.The party's predecessor, Otan was originally established on February 12, 1999...
, received about 88% of the vote and won all of the available seats. None of the six other parties contesting the election reached the 7% threshold to win seats. The election was described on state television as "a real step towards democracy", although the opposition Nationwide Social Democratic Party
Nationwide Social Democratic Party
Nationwide Social Democratic Party is a political party in Kazakhstan led by former Presidential election candidate Zharmakhan Tuyakbay...
, which received almost 5% of the vote, denounced the election, and Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe observers said the election showed some progress, but was also marred by problems, saying that "in over 40 percent of the polling stations visited, [vote counting] was described as bad or very bad", which was worse than in the last parliamentary and presidential elections. Bias in the state media was also considered a problem.