1999 Kazakh presidential election

Background

Kazakhstan's second presidential election was originally scheduled to occur in 1996. However, after a 1995 referendum the date was then set to be in December 2000. Parliamentary action in the fall of 1998, however, ultimately resulted in the election occurring in early 1999.

On 7 October 1998 nineteen amendments to the constitution were passed by Parliament and signed into law by President Nazarbayev. One amendment to article 94 read: "By consent of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan the present term of the powers of the President of the Republic may be reduced by resolution of the Parliament of the Republic, adopted at the joint session of its Chambers by the majority of votes of the total number of deputies of each Chamber. In such case the Mäjilis of the Parliament within one month shall order elections of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan."

Acting under this new amendment, the following day Parliament asked Nazarbayev to shorten his current term in office. The president agreed, after which the Mäjilis set 10 January 1999 as the date for new elections.

Since the previous presidential election in 1991, Kazakhstan's political scene had changed significantly; Nazarbayev, who had previously been publicly viewed as one of the most reformist pro-democracy figures in the Soviet Union, had increasingly centralised power into his own hands, reorganising the previously-parliamentary government into a strong presidential system. He had dismissed the conservative, communist-dominated Parliament in 1993 by decree and replaced it with a multiparty legislature, which was subsequently dismissed by the Supreme Court a year later before a bicameral legislature was established with far weaker powers than the immediate post-Soviet parliament. Nazarbayev had adopted shock therapy policies of economic liberalisation with the backing of the International Monetary Fund, which led to public unrest.

The main opposition candidate, Akejan Kajegeldin, was barred from running in the election. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe criticised the government's refusal to register Kajegeldin and another candidate, noting that it raised doubts about whether it could be a fair election. A recently passed law prohibited anyone convicted of a crime from running in the election. Kazhegeldin had recently been convicted of participating in an unsanctioned election rally, thereby becoming ineligible to seek office.

Conduct

Even before the election, groups such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) expressed concern about the short preparation and campaigning period. OSCE pressed the Kazakh government to postpone the election so that all candidates could have adequate time to campaign, but to no avail. U.S. vice president Al Gore called Nazarbayev in November 1998 to express concerns about the upcoming election.

The lack of fair access to mass media also concerned many observers. According to OSCE, most major media outlets focused disproportionately on Nazarbayev.

Serikbolsyn Abdildin, the runner-up in the election, claimed widespread voter fraud and a failure to properly count ballots.

The U.S. Department of State commented that the undemocratic nature of the elections "cast a shadow on bilateral relations".

Results

Nazarbayev's party, the Party of People's Unity of Kazakhstan, was reformed into the Otan Party two months after the elections.

References

References

1. Olcott, Martha Brill. (2002). "Kazakhstan: Unfulfilled Promise". [[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]].
2. (9 November 1998). "Kazakhstan's Empty Election". [[The New York Times]].
3. OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). (5 February 1999). "The Republic of Kazakhstan Presidential Election, 10 January 1999 - Assessment Mission". Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
4. Olcott, p119
5. Smith, Christopher. (March 16, 1999). "Kazakhstan's Presidential Election - Extension of Remarks by Rep. Christopher H. Smith". [[U.S. House of Representatives]].
6. [[Dieter Nohlen]], Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I'', p424 {{ISBN. 0-19-924958-X
7. [http://www.legislationline.org/upload/legislations/81/9b/5e3433aadd3a9d28d35c4ca1d98a.htm Constitution of Kazakhstan] {{Webarchive. link. (2008-02-08 Legislation Online)
8. "From "Democratization" To Snap Presidential Elections". [[Human Rights Watch]].
9. OSCE-ODIHR, p7
10. Abazov, Rafis. (June 2001). "The 1999 Presidential Elections in Kazakhstan". [[Electoral Studies]].
11. (3 December 1998). "OSCE wants Kazakhstan election postponed". [[BBC News]].
12. OSCE-ODIHR, p3
13. OSCE-ODIHR, pp12–14
14. [https://archive.today/20120910235724/http://www.rferl.org/newsline/1999/01/2-tca/tca-130199.asp Defeated Communist Candidate to Protest Kazakhstan Election Outcome] Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 13 January 1999
15. Olcott, p93