Month in Review: Central Asia in December 2020 December 2020 in Central Asia is remembered for the start of the election campaign in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan; high-level official meetings of the CIS and CSTO; arrangements for the new 2021; several protests; power outages and the still tenuous epidemiological situation in the region. The analytical platform CABAR.asia presents a brief overview of the major events in the region over the past month. Follow us on Telegram Kazakhstan Epidemiological situation The epidemiological situation in Kazakhstan has been rather tenuous over this month. As of December 31, the country reports a total of 155,473 COVID-19 cases and 2,262 deaths. Kazakh Health Ministry has detached pneumonia data from tallying COVID-19 numbers since August 1, 2020. As of December 31, Kazakhstan reports a total of 45,723 cases of pneumonia and 499 deaths. The country’s Health Ministry says the resurgence in COVID-19 numbers and its peak should be expected in the first months of 2021. Quarantine zones As of December 31, Atyrau and Akmola regions are in the red quarantine zone. Kostanay, Pavlodar, North Kazakhstan, and West Kazakhstan regions, together with Nursultan and Almaty cities, are assigned to the yellow zone. Territories are assigned to red and yellow quarantine zones if they score high in the COVID-19 risk assessment level. Mass vaccination Kazakhstan began producing the Russian Sputnik V vaccine on December 21. The Karaganda pharmaceutical complex plans to produce 2 million doses of coronavirus vaccine. Month in Review: Central Asia in December 2020 Prime Minister Askar Mamin said that Sputnik V mass vaccination will start in February 2021. Government officials, students, health workers, and people with chronic diseases will be first to get vaccinated. The third stage of clinical trials of the national QazCovid-in vaccine started in Almaty on December 19. A large biopharmaceutical plant for the production of immunobiological drugs is under construction in the Zhambyl region. The domestic coronavirus vaccine will also be produced over there. Resumption of activities On December 25, the chief sanitary doctor of Kazakhstan, Yerlan Kiyasov, signed a decree on the gradual lifting of quarantine rules. Authorities permitted, from the beginning of 2021, reopening of schools and universities; conducting individual and group practice in sports complexes; the movement of passenger and commuter trains; holding republican championships and competitions. Kazakh authorities also permitted certain types of economic activity, including national companies, the quasi-public sector, business centers, financial market entities, wholesale and retail trade facilities, malls, airports, bus and railway stations, industrial facilities, and many others. Owing to the tenuous epidemiological situation, Kazakhstan has extended tighter quarantine measures. For the period between December 25 and January 5, the authorities had barred New Year’s celebrations in all organizations and institutions across the country. Russian delegation On December 3, Kazakh President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev met with the Deputy Head of Russian Presidential Administration Dmitry Kozak in Nursultan. Month in Review: Central Asia in December 2020 Photo: akorda.kz At the meeting, the parties deliberated on trade and economic cooperation development prospects. They have also discussed the production of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in Kazakhstan. On December 2, Dmitry Kozak met in Tashkent with the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The parties reviewed the upcoming summits to be held in 2021. According to some sources, most of Kozak’s negotiations with the heads of the Central Asian states took place behind closed doors. Election Campaign Start The election campaign in Kazakhstan started at 6 pm on December 10; it will last until midnight on January 9. The date preceding the voting day, January 10, has been declared a “Day of Silence”. The results of polls, forecasts, or studies concerning elections should not be published within five days prior to and on the voting day. Month in Review: Central Asia in December 2020 IWPR and Chatham House Organized a Joint Online Event “Kazakhstan’s First Parliamentary Elections in the Post-Nazarbayev Era” The CEC registered party lists of five political parties, a total of 312 candidates, of which 90 are women. 19 candidates are under the age of 29. The youngest candidate born in 1995, the oldest born in 1950. The average age of a candidate is 46.7 years. The party lists include 34 deputies of the Majilis of the parliament’s current, sixth convocation. Nur Otan’s party list consists of 126 people, the list of the People’s Party of Kazakhstan (formerly the Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan) of 113, the parties Ak Zhol and Adal (formerly Birlik) have 38 and 16 people, respectively. According to the CEC, the parties will be represented on the ballot in the following order: People’s Party, Nur Otan, Auyl, Ak Zhol, Adal. On January 10, Kazakhstanis to elect 98 deputies of the Mazhilis by party lists. Nine more Majilis deputies are elected by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan. Former President Nursultan Nazarbayev has the most deputy mandates in the current Majilis with 84 people from the Nur Otan party. The Ak Zhol party and the People’s Party each have seven seats. This will be the first parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan after the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled for almost 30 years and despite resigning in 2019, retains significant influence over the state apparatus. He is the chairman of the Nur Otan party, which dominates the country’s political space; the life-long chairman of the influential Security Council; and he also enjoys the title of “leader of the nation”, which guarantees him and his family members the inviolability of assets and immunity from legal process of any kind. According to the law “On elections”, only candidates nominated by parties can be elected to Majilis and maslikhats. According to the 2018 amendments to the law, self-nominated candidates cannot run for office. Since last year, several initiative groups and organizations have announced plans to register their associations as political parties and participate in elections. But they did not manage to create parties before the elections alluding to the impediments on the side of the authorities. Controversial statements by the Russian deputy On December 11, Russian Deputy of the State Duma Vyacheslav Nikonov made Month in Review: Central Asia in December 2020 controversial comments pertaining to Kazakhstan’s territory. Nikonov has described Kazakhstan’s current territory as being “ a gift from Russia”. The next day, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry released a statement about the increased “provocative attacks” of some Russian lawmakers that “cause serious damage” to the allied relations of the two states. On December 20, another State Duma deputy, Yevgeny Fyodorov, spoke for the restoration of a unified state of Russia and Kazakhstan. On December 23, the Kazakh Foreign Minister, Mukhtar Tleuberdi, said that the MPs’ statements do not reflect the official position of Russia. At the same time, a rally took place outside the Russian Consulate General in Almaty on December 26; protesters dubbed those statements a sign of aggression. Abolition of the death penalty On December 23, MPs ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Under the protocol, countries are committed to taking all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty. However, Kazakhstan reserves the right to apply the death penalty in wartime. According to experts, this protocol does not comply with the provisions of Kazakhstan’s national legislation. At the same time, experts argue that the signing of the protocol is an important step towards humanism-inclined positive changes. On December 17, 2003, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree introducing a moratorium on the execution of the death penalty. Despite a moratorium, the country’s Criminal Code still provided for the death penalty. No filming On December 25, Yerlan Kiyasov signed another decree prohibiting audio, photo, and video recording in healthcare institutions, ambulances, as well as in quarantine rooms. The Health Ministry says the decision will guarantee patients’ right to confidentiality. On the other hand, independent observers assert that the recording ban is envisioned to hide the shortcomings of the health care system, particularly evident with the onset of the Month in Review: Central Asia in December 2020 coronavirus pandemic. On December 4, the CEC of Kazakhstan prohibited public observers to broadcast live from polling stations. It has also enforced significant limitations, restricting the presence of observers in the electoral process. Experts believe the Kazakh authorities are assembling mass vote-rigging at the upcoming parliamentary elections. Kyrgyzstan Epidemiological situation This month, there has been a steady decline across Kyrgyzstan in the number of infected with the coronavirus. Whilst the country reported over 450 new COVID-19 cases daily in November, this figure had dropped to 160 by late December. There was a gradual lifting of quarantine rules during this month. For instance, on December 1 in the cities of Bishkek and Osh, Kyrgyz authorities permitted the work of cinemas, food courts, and computer clubs. On December 4, the Kyrgyz government decided to open its borders for foreign citizens traveling by air. Also, schools in the capital will reopen on January 15. On December 8, the Health Ministry reported a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases among school-age children. It was stated that the increase is not associated with the reopening of schools. As of December 31, Kyrgyzstan reports a total of 81,034 coronavirus cases and 1,093 deaths since the onset of the pandemic. 1,165 patients are hospital-treated. Kyrgyzstan includes community-acquired pneumonia cases in official COVID-19 data. Getting ready for the tenuous epidemiological situation Two infectious diseases hospitals, built of pre-fabricated structures, had been opened on December 29 in Bishkek.