2022 Kazakh presidential election

2022 Kazakh presidential election
← 2019 20 November 2022 (2022-11-20) 2029 →
Turnout69.44 (Decrease 8.10pp)
 
Nominee Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Jiguli Dairabaev
Party Independent Independent
Alliance People's Coalition Auyl
Popular vote 6,456,392 271,641
Percentage 81.31% 3.42%
Results by region
President before election

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Independent

Elected President

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Independent

Politics of Kazakhstan

Commonwealth of Independent States CIS member state

Snap presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan on 20 November 2022 to elect the President of Kazakhstan.[1][2] This was the seventh presidential election since Kazakhstan's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.[3] Incumbent president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, an independent, was re-elected for a second term in a landslide, receiving 81% of the vote.[4] His closest challenger, Jiguli Dairabaev of the Auyl Party, received just 3% of the vote, marking the first time since 2015 that all candidates other than the incumbent president failed to garner 5% or more of the vote.[5] This was the first election since 1999 in which the "against all" option was included on the ballot paper. It received 6% of the total vote.[6] Voter turnout was 69%, the lowest ever in a Kazakh presidential election.[7]

Originally scheduled for December 2024, President Tokayev called for snap presidential elections in autumn 2022 in his annual State of the Nation Address in September 2022, where he also proposed changing the presidential term to a nonrenewable seven-year term through a constitutional amendment,[8][9] and announced his intention to run for a second five-year term.[10][11] However, this led to questions about the legality of Tokayev's proposals regarding his term of office, due to speculation that this would allow him to serve more than two terms as president. As a result, Tokayev's proposed constitutional amendments were ratified and signed into law prior to the vote,[12][13] with Tokayev himself then setting the election date by presidential decree on 21 September.[14][15][16]

A total of 12 candidates were nominated for the election, with just six qualifying for the ballot, including Qaraqat Äbden (National Alliance of Professional Social Workers) and Saltanat Tursynbekova (QA–DJ). Multiple female presidential candidates appeared on the ballot for the first time.[17] Tokayev was supported by the People's Coalition,[18] an electoral alliance formed by several pro-government parties[19] as well as various public associations.[20][21][22] Jiguli Dairabaev was nominated by the Auyl People's Democratic Patriotic Party, the only pro-government party in Kazakhstan to contest the election.[23] Nūrjan Ältaev, a former Amanat deputy and a member of the divided Coalition of Democratic Forces was barred from running by court order.[4][24] This left Nurlan Auesbaev from the Nationwide Social Democratic Party to become the sole opposition candidate in the election.[25][26] Virtually all presidential contestants challenging Tokayev were described as "pocket candidates", due to their relative obscurity and lack of popularity.[27][28]

The elections took place following the 2022 Kazakh unrest and the subsequent constitutional referendum. Campaigning focused on COVID-induced inflation, political reforms, democratization, and combating oligarchy. Additional issues included the public usage of the Kazakh language, as well as socioeconomic concerns on agriculture, family life, and feminism.[29] Protests against the legitimacy of the election faced crackdowns and prosecution by the Kazakh government.[30][31] Reports prevailed of internet blackouts, DDoS attacks, and government pressure towards independent Kazakh media.[32]

Tokayev was widely expected to win the election. Exit polls indicated he received a majority of the vote.[33] Tokayev was declared the winner in the early morning of 21 November 2022 after the preliminary results were published by the Central Election Commission,[34] which on 22 November officially certified Tokayev's election.[35] Tokayev was sworn in for his second term at the presidential inauguration that took place on 26 November at the Palace of Independence in Astana.[36] Shortly thereafter, Tokayev called for the January 2023 Senate election before dissolving the 7th Parliament of Kazakhstan and scheduling the 2023 legislative election to take place on 19 March.[5][7]

In a statement, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) praised the election as "efficiently prepared", while noting the lack of competitiveness. OSCE underlined the need for legislation to ensure "genuine pluralism".[37]

  1. ^ Bulatkulova, Saniya (21 September 2022). "Kazakhstan to Hold Presidential Elections on November 20". The Astana Times. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  2. ^ Seilkhanov, Adlet (21 September 2022). "Kazakhstan to hold early presidential election on Nov 20". Kazinform. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  3. ^ Putz, Catherine (14 September 2022). "Nur-Sultan No More and Kazakh Tinkering With Presidential Terms". thediplomat.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Kazakh President Tokayev wins re-election with 81.3% of vote". Reuters. 21 November 2022. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Kazakh presidential election results: Tokayev wins by getting 81.31% of the vote". Trend.Az. 22 November 2022. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
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  7. ^ a b "Kazakh President Tokayev wins re-election with 81.3% of vote". www.aljazeera.com. 21 November 2022. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Kazakh leader to seek second term in snap election". Reuters. 1 September 2022. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  9. ^ Bulatkulova, Saniya (1 September 2022). "President Tokayev Announces Early Presidential Elections Scheduled for This Fall". The Astana Times. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Kazakhstan's President Toqaev To Seek Second Term In Snap Election". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to seek second term in snap election". Meduza. 1 September 2022. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Kazakhstan limits presidential term, renames capital". www.aljazeera.com. 17 September 2022. Archived from the original on 17 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Kazakhstan Renames Capital, Extends Presidential Term". VOA. 17 September 2022. Archived from the original on 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
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  16. ^ Bayar, Gözde (21 September 2021). "Kazakhstan to hold snap presidential election on Nov. 20". www.aa.com.tr. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  17. ^ Haidar, Aida (11 October 2022). "Two Female Candidates Nominated in Kazakhstan's Presidential Elections For First Time". The Astana Times. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  18. ^ "A meeting of the Central Election Commission was held on the results of the nomination of candidates for the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan". www.election.gov.kz. 12 October 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Political parties – Amanat, Ak Zhol and People's Party of Kazakhstan nominate Tokayev as a presidential candidate". el.kz. 6 October 2022. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  20. ^ "Kazakhstan: Tokayev to Run for Reelection With Support of 'People's Coalition'". Stratfor. 6 October 2022. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  21. ^ "People's coalition nominated Tokayev for presidency of Kazakhstan". kaztag.kz. 7 October 2022. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  22. ^ Kussainova, Meiramgul (6 October 2022). "Kazakh president named candidate of newly formed coalition for snap election". www.aa.com.tr. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  23. ^ Rickleton, Chris; Trotsenko, Petr (17 November 2022). "'Old-Style Election' Casts Doubts On Toqaev's 'New Kazakhstan,' Say Experts". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  24. ^ Bulatkulova, Saniya (18 October 2022). "Astana Court Invalidates Protocol for Nomination of Nurzhan Altayev as Presidential Candidate". The Astana Times. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  25. ^ "The names of eight candidates for the post of president have become known in Kazakhstan". bigasia.ru. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  26. ^ Lillis, Joanna (6 October 2022). "Kazakhstan: Business as usual as one-horse race looms in presidential vote | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Five 'Pocket' Candidates Line Up Against Toqaev In Kazakh Presidential Vote". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 21 October 2022. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  28. ^ Górecki, Wojciech (22 November 2022). "Kazakhstan: elections without an alternative". OSW Centre for Eastern Studies. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  29. ^ Bulatkulova, Saniya (7 November 2022). "Election Season in Kazakhstan to Сoncentrate on Social Obligations, Say Experts". The Astana Times. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  30. ^ "Dozens arrested after protests in Kazakhstan". tvpworld.com. 26 November 2022. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
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  37. ^ "Kazakhstan's Early Presidential Election Lacked Competitiveness and, While Efficiently Prepared, Underlined Need for Further Reforms, Observers Say". Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. 21 November 2022. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.