Six candidates are in the running for the November 20 election, including the acting president. The candidate Karakat Abden, 48, who represents social workers, arouses curiosity. The option of voting “against all” is maintained as a “way of expression” for voters. Few protests from the excluded candidates.
Moscow () – The Electoral Committee of Kazakhstan has definitively approved the list of candidates for the presidential elections on November 20, after analyzing the candidates submitted. Half of the candidates were left out and only six remain in the electoral race. The first is that of the outgoing president himself, Kasym-Žomart Tokaev, 69, who, according to all forecasts, would not see any obstacles to obtaining a second term. It should be remembered that the 2019 elections were also held before the end of the term of his predecessor, Nazarbayev.
All candidates for the presidencyin the photo, clockwise) are little known, despite the fact that one of the requirements is to have served in public administration for a certain period. Meyram Kažyken, 61, is presented by the Amanat union; he heads the Astana Institute of Economic Research and has served as a government adviser since the early 2000s, mainly in the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Equally influential appears to be Žiguli Dayrabaev, 67, the AUYL party candidate and chairman of the Committee for the Agricultural-Industrial Complex of the Atameken Chamber of Entrepreneurs, a former Soviet-era kolkhoz leader.
Among the candidates, one of the most interesting figures is Karakat Abden, 48, who represents social workers and defends women’s rights in high administrative levels. Since her youth, very active in the Nur Otan presidential party, she was a municipal deputy in Astana and in 2019 published a book entitled “You are a Kazakh: be proud!”, which was a great success and also drew criticism for the state funding it received. .
The other candidate is Saltanat Tursynbekova, also 48, from the republican association “Kazakh mothers as a path to tradition.” Last year Tokaev appointed her chairperson of the Committee on Women’s Affairs, Population and Family Policy of the presidential administration. She is seen as an activist in defense of people’s rights.
Closing the list is Nurlan Auesbaev, 65, of the OSDP Social Democratic Party, the only one that defines itself as “opposition.” A former member of the Communist Party, Auesbaev is known for his proposal to erect a statue of Lenin in the new capital, Astana, which was rejected by President Nazarbayev. His candidacy is the result of a victory in the party’s primaries.
Among the ballots is the option to vote “against all”, despite the fact that it will have no effect on the result, since the votes against do not enter the calculation, even if they reach the majority of the votes cast. This option is maintained at the request of Tokaev, who wants to give voters a “way of expression” at the polls.
The candidates who were excluded for formal reasons (insufficient signatures to run, little time in public office, and internal clashes in support groups) did not express any particular protest. With the exception of opposition politician Žasaral Kuanyšalin, who did not even present his candidacy. It is said that he is the victim of a “state boycott”: presumably pressure was exerted on all the political formations and associations willing to consider his name. And it was impossible to get the match registration from him “Come on, Kazakhstan!
Other activists and journalists have also complained about the impossibility of presenting true “candidates of the people”, which reveals a general discontent among the population. However, the unease is unlikely to find expression in actual protests against Tokaev’s re-instatement.
