Credit:UN Photo / F. Charton

The former Soviet republic's legislative election disappoints, again.

Mario Canseco - Yesterday, Kazakhstan became the latest country to test the implementation of a proportional representation system in its legislative elections. For many supporters of smaller parties around the world, who wish to break free from the constraints of the first-past-the-post system, a party list sounds alluring and fair. In the case of this former Soviet republic, it was simply misleading and unreasonable.

The early ballot was called in June, after Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev decided to dissolve the Assembly—allegedly expediting a request from "a group of lawmakers" following the authorization of constitutional amendments—in order to push the country "towards creating a democratic, free and lawful society."

The modifications to the country's electoral regulations saw a change in the distribution of seats. In 2004, only 10 mandates were allocated through proportional representation, while 67 were chosen in single-seat constituencies. The new amendments called for a larger legislature, with 107 seats, 98 of which would be picked through party lists, and nine elected by the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan—a group representing ethnic minorities.

The main quandary with this system is the fact that the threshold for earning seats in the Assembly was set at seven per cent, making it one of the highest in the world. In a country that has been chided repeatedly for its lack of transparency in electoral campaigns, the modification seemed custom-made to place the governing Fatherland Party (OTAN) in a position of virtual omnipotence. In addition, a survey by the Association of Sociologists and Political Scientists suggested that more than half of voters would not participate in the process.

The early ballot gave the opposition little time to properly prepare and enhance its chances of winning seats under the new system. In the 2005 presidential election, National Social Democratic Party (NSDP) member Zharmakhan Tuyakbai—running under the For a Just Kazakhstan platform—finished second to Nazarbayev with 6.64 per cent of all cast ballots. Intriguingly, the legislative election threshold was set only slightly higher than Tuyakbai's total two years ago.

Nazarbayev has been deemed as an authoritarian leader, who seems intent in avoiding the possibility of a revolt similar to the one other elder Soviet leaders faced in Georgia or Kyrgyzstan. The constitutional amendments that led to this year's election also include a predictable initiative, which allows Nazarbayev—who began to rule Kazakhstan when George H. Bush was in the White House and John Major lived at 10 Downing Street—to run for president indefinitely.

The main international foe of Kazakhstan, when it comes to the interpretation of what "democracy" actually means, has been the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Every report issued by OSCE election monitors after an election has been negative, yet Kazakhstan still collaborates with the continental body. This odd pairing led to even more shock when Rakhat Aliyev—who is married to the president's daughter and former lawmaker Dariga Nazarbayeva—was dismissed from his position as Kazakhstan's ambassador to the OSCE, following his indictment on racketeering charges.

Throughout the campaign, the OSCE expressed concerns about media coverage, and claimed that the country's outlets are biased towards the governing OTAN. The party rejected the accusations, and officials expressed confidence in winning all the seats at stake. When final tallies were released earlier today, their assessment proved correct. OTAN secured almost 90 per cent of the vote, and with all their rivals falling below the seven per cent threshold, Nazarbayev's party will have control of 98 seats.

During the campaign, the president pledged to "do everything" to guarantee a free and fair election, but the monitors tell a different story. Although the OSCE official report cites progress, its observers noted glaring violations—such as multiple voting, false signatures and votes cast for the opposition that were tallied for OTAN—in 43 per cent of the polling stations they visited. These regrettable incidents hardly amount to a vote of confidence for a government that is clearly stuck in authoritarianism.

Nazarbayev has expressed that getting Kazakhstan to act as the chairman of the OSCE in 2009 is one of the key goals of his administration. It is particularly humorous to think of Kazakhstan chairing the OSCE, when it has clearly demonstrated no interest in co-operation or respect for fundamental democratic standards.

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