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KAS Democracy Report 2009

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KAS Democracy Report 2009 Kazakhstan 79 KazaKhstan Vyacheslav Abramov i . generaL information According to its constitution, the Republic of Kazakhstan is a presidential republic with far-reaching Political system powers vested in the president. The president submits to parliament a candidate for prime minister and appoints ministers by means of decrees and also the heads of the regional (regional, capital and Almaty) administrative authorities (Akeemes). moreover, he submits to the senate (the upper chamber of parliament) candidates for the prosecutor-general, a candidate for presidency of the supreme court and a candidate for the chairperson of the national bank. All these candidates have formally to be elected by the senate. After nomination by the president, the prime minister calls for a vote of confidence before the mazhilis (the lower house of parliament), but these procedures are more a formality. Kazakhstan has not seen a single case when the candidates proposed by the president have not been approved by the mazhilis or the senate. The president can be elected for a period of five years. However, this regulation does not apply to the first president of Kazakhstan, nursultan nazarbaev, who can be re-elected an unlimited number of times (in accordance with the may 2007 amendments to the constitution). All future elected presidents can occupy the position for no more than two consecutive terms. Any citizen of Kazakhstan who is at least 40 years old, who is able to speak the official language (Kazakh) and has been living in Kazakhstan for the last 15 years, can be proposed for the presidency. Since the Kazakh Republic became independent (16 December 1991), presidential elections have been conducted three times: 1 December 1991, January 1999 (the first alternative elections) and December 2005. All elections were won by the current president, nursultan nazarbaev. In the elections on 10 January 1999 nursultan nazarbaev won almost 80 per cent of the votes. The leader of the Kazakh Communist Party, Serikbolsyn Abdildin, gained 11.7 per cent of the votes, the chairperson of the Kazakh Party of Patriots, gani Kasymov, 4.61 per cent and the independent candidate, enguels gabbasov, only 0.79 per cent. According to the Central election Commission of Kazakhstan, President nazarbaev won the last elections in December 2005 with 91.15 per cent of the votes. five political parties (otan, Asar, the Civil Party, the Agrarian Party and Rukhaniyat) supported his candidature. The chairperson of the for a fair Kazakhstan opposition association, zharmakhan Tuyakbuy, attained 6.61 per cent of the votes, the leader of the moderate opposition party Ak zhol, Alikhan buymenov, received 1.61 per cent, the candidate nominated for the presidency by the Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan, erasyl Abylkasymov, 0.34 per cent, and the independent candidate, the ecologist mels eleusizov, 0.28 per cent. none of the presidential elections have been recognized as free by the international observers representing the organization for Security and Cooperation in europe, the Council of europe and other international organizations. 80 KAS Democracy Report 2009 Constitution The constitution of Kazakhstan was adopted by a referendum in August 1995. This is the second constitution of Kazakhstan; the first one was introduced in January 1993. Since its adoption, the second constitution has been changed twice: on 7 october 1998 and 21 may 2007. In both cases significant amendments were proposed. The first amendments passed in 1998 increased the term of office for the president and the deputies for both the mazhilis and senate. The amendments adopted in 2007, in contrast, reduced the (next) president’s term of office, but – as mentioned above – the first president, nursultan nazarbaev, has been granted the right to run for the post as many times as he wants. Also, parliament’s authority to control the government’s activity was enhanced. In both cases the changes had been discussed and accepted by both chambers of parliament without submitting the amendments to a nationwide discussion. The constitution confirms crucial human rights, which are approved in section II, called “The Individual and Citizen”. In 29 articles in this section the following principal human rights are confirmed: the right to life (article 15); the right to judicial protection and receipt of competent legal assistance (article 12); the right to be free from discrimination due to one’s origin, social, official and pecuniary status, sex, race, nationality, language, attitude to religion, beliefs, residence or any other circumstances (article 14); the right to personal liberty – arrest is allowed only with court sanction (article 16); the right to be free from torture (article 17); the right to privacy, personal or family secrets and honour, and the protection of dignity (article 18); the right to freedom of speech and creation, and the interdiction of censorship (article 20); the right to free movement (article 21); the right to liberty of conscience (article 22); the right to freedom of association (article 23); the right to private property and security of residence (article 26 and 25); a right to health protection and free secondary education (articles 29 and 30); the right to freedom of assembly (article 32); the right to participate in government directly and via its representatives; the right to access to the information of state authorities (article 33). The constitution also defines that the rights and liberties of a human can be limited only by laws, and only insofar as it is necessary for the protection of the constitutional system, the protection of public order, the rights and freedoms of a human, and the health and morality of the population (article 39). At the same time it is possible to say that the rights and freedoms as laid down in the constitution are not completely realized. The citizens of the country actually have only a limited right to freedom of peaceful assembly, and the rights of citizens to freedom from torture are violated. furthermore, Kazakh and international organizations register violations of the right to legal protection, the right to freedom of association and the right to freedom of expression of opinions (freedom House 2008). Though the constitution does not assign special functions to political parties, three articles impose certain limits on their actions. Article 5 (4) states that “Activities of political parties and trade unions of other states, religious parties as well as financing political parties and trade unions by foreign legal entities and citizens, foreign states and international organizations shall not be permitted in the Republic”. Article 23 (2) specifies that “[T]he military, employees of national security, law-enforcement bodies and judges must abstain from membership in political parties, trade unions, and actions in support of any political party.” In article 51 (5) the electoral threshold is outlined: “only those political parties which received not less than 7 per cent of votes of constituents who took part in the elections, shall be admitted to distribution of deputy mandates [seats for deputies]”. All the other activities of political parties are regulated by the relevant legislation (see below). State of Despite the formal sings of liberal democracy and despite the constitutional guarantees of formal democracy rights and freedoms, Kazakhstan shows significant shortcomings in the realization of full demo- cratic standards. In the views of international organizations, Kazakhstan has never conducted free elections since its independence and has actually limited the right of its citizens to participate in government, which is the necessary element of democracy. Kazakhstan 81 The basic changes in Kazakhstan during the last five years have been merely a “face-lift” of legis- lation and practices. In spite of liberalization and slight progress Kazakhstan is characterized by a one-party parliament and far-reaching presidential prerogatives, not to speak of the decision to give the incumbent an unlimited period in office. International organizations evaluating the situation in Kazakhstan specify that during recent years Kazakhstan has made only a few changes in a liberal direction. At the same time the country’s authorities have maintained their positions and the existing state of forces that do not allow them to make a major breakthrough in politics and public life (Human Rights Watch 2008). In accordance with the findings of the german bertelsmann Stiftung, Kazakhstan is best described as a “defective democracy” or “autocratic government” (bertelsmann Stiftung 2008: 15). According to the constitution, Kazakhstan is a unitary state. The head of the state and the head of Separation the executive is the president of the country. The president defines the lines of domestic and foreign of powers policymaking. The candidature of the prime minister is approved by parliament at the suggestion of the president, all ministers and the heads of local administrations are appointed by the head of state. As a rule, the president appoints them without consulting with parliamentary deputies. The formation of a government does not depend on the outcome of parliamentary elections. The highest legislative authority in Kazakhstan is the parliament, which consists of two formally equal chambers: the mazhilis and the senate. The mazhilis consists of 107 deputies of which 98 are elected by the voters via party lists. Political parties have to gain at least 7 per cent of the votes to gain a seat in parliament. Additionally, nine further deputies are elected from among members of the Kazakh Assembly of nations (the authority which unites the national and cultural centres of the country’s nationalities; the head of the assembly is the president of Kazakhstan). The senate consists of 47 deputies. Thirty-two deputies are elected by a simple majority vote: two deputies from each region, the capital and the city of Almaty, which is Kazakhstan’s biggest city. elections are by indirect voting: the deputies from the maslikhats (local representative authorities) of the corresponding regions elect the deputies to the senate.
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