KAZAKHSTAN: PRESIDENT DISSOLVES MAZHILIS, CALLS ELECTIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 001716

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN (M. O'MARA)

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM PREL KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: PRESIDENT DISSOLVES MAZHILIS, CALLS ELECTIONS
UNDER NEWLY PASSED REFORM LEGISLATION

REF: A. Astana 515, B. USOSCE 195, C. Astana 1304,

D. Astana 1323, E. Astana 1528, F. Astana 1558,

G. Astana 1668

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1. (U) Summary: On June 18, the parliament passed a number of
legislative amendments to implement the recent changes to
Kazakhstan's constitution. Most of the legislative changes are
identical to the recent constitutional changes, though the new law
on elections sets forth the election process in greater detail.
President Nazarbayev signed all of the legislative changes on June

19. On June 20, he announced the early dissolution of the Mazhilis,
and called elections for August 18. End summary.

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PRESIDENT DISSOLVES MAZHILIS, CALLS EARLY ELECTIONS...
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2. (U) On June 18, during a joint session, the parliament passed
amendments implementing recent changes to Kazakhstan's constitution
in four major laws: the Laws on the President, the Cabinet, the
Parliament and the Status of Its Members, and Elections. President
Nazarbayev signed all of the legislation on June 19.


3. (U) On June 20, President Nazarbayev announced the early
dissolution of the Mazhilis; the Mazhilis term would normally expire
in September 2009. He scheduled new Mazhilis elections for August

18. Under this timetable, political parties must begin nominating
candidates on June 22, and complete the nominations by July 11.
Nazarbayev announced that the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan,
which is now entitled to choose nine Mazhilis members, will select
its members on August 20. Pursuant to the new constitutional and
legislative changes, the Senate is empowered to act in the absence
of the Mazhilis.

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... AFTER PARLIAMENT FINISHES REFORM LEGISLATION
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4. (U) Although the texts of the amendments have not yet been
published, there have been detailed press reports on the contents of
the legislation signed June 19. The revisions to the Law on the
President track closely with the recent constitutional amendments
(Ref D),confirming, for example, that the president's term in
office will be reduced from seven to five years beginning in 2012,
and that the president is no longer required to suspend his
participation in a political party while serving as president. The
legislation confirms that the president can choose to dissolve only
the Mazhilis; previously, the president was required to dissolve
both the Senate and the Mazhilis. (Note: Under the new
constitutional reforms, the Senate is empowered to assume all of the
functions of parliament in the event of a temporary absence of the
Mazhilis. Senators are not directly elected; fifteen of the 47
senators are to be appointed directly by the president; the
remainder will be chosen by the presidentially-appointed regional
akims. End note.)


5. (U) The revisions to the Law on the Cabinet are likewise nearly
substantively identical to the recent constitutional amendments.
The constitutional amendments opened the door for exceptions to the
ban on Cabinet members holding other paid positions or engaging in
entrepreneurial activities. The revised Law on the Cabinet creates
such an exception, allowing Cabinet members to be members of the
managing or steering boards of commercial organizations.


6. (U) The revisions to the Law on the Parliament and the Status of
Its Members set forth in greater detail the role of political party
factions in the Mazhilis, in addition to confirming the recent
constitutional changes impacting the legislature. Political party
factions are permitted only in the Mazhilis, and will be led by
members of the Mazhilis leadership. The law also establishes
procedures for parliament to express its consent to the appointment
or dismissal of government officials, and sets forth operational
procedures for the Senate to act in the absence of the Mazhilis.


7. (U) The revisions to the Law on Elections set forth the election
procedure in detail; the recent constitutional amendments removed
these procedures from the Constitution. As specified in the revised
constitution, 98 of the 107 Mazhilis members will be elected under a
party list system, while the remaining nine members will be chosen
by the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan. The new law states that
each party may nominate no more than 127 candidates. The threshold
to be represented in the Mazhilis is 7%. Parties that pass that
threshold will decide after the election which of their candidates
will take seats in the Mazhilis; this decision may be made at a

ASTANA 00001716 002.2 OF 002


party congress or by the party's administration.


8. (U) Political parties must file their list of candidates no more
than two months and no less than 40 days before the election.
Nomination of candidates by the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan
begins 15 days before and closes 10 days before the elections. The
law states that parties may not form electoral blocs to compete in
elections. (Note: Opposition party leaders claimed that this
provision was added after True Ak Zhol and the National Social
Democratic Party announced their intention to form an electoral bloc
several weeks ago, Ref F. Other observers say that electoral blocs
should be avoided because they lead to instability in
proportionally-elected legislatures. End note.)


9. (U) In addition, the revised Law on Elections states that a
political party that won 7% or more of the vote in the previous
election is exempt from the election fee; a party that won 5-7% of
the votes in the previous election pays 50% of the election fee; and
a party that won 3-5% of the vote pay 70% of the election fee.
(Note: The election fee is 15 times the official minimum salary per
candidate nominated; this year, the fee will be approximately $1200
per candidate nominated. End note.) The law also states that the
Central Election Commission will now issue absentee voting
certificates; previously, this was the task of local election
commissions. The law also bans the participation of incumbent
members of parliament, maslikhats, other local self-government
authorities, presidential candidates, presidential candidate
representatives, judges, or government officials from serving on
election commissions.


10. (U) Furthermore, the revised election law provides that parties
that have no representatives on local election commissions may send
representatives to participate with a right of "consultative vote";
such representatives may speak at meetings, initiate proposals, and
protest election commission actions by filing a complaint to a
higher level election commission or a court. (Note: Opposition
party leaders have been highly critical of the process for selecting
election commission members, and are not satisfied with the above
measure. Refs E, G. End note.)


11. (U) Finally, the revised Law on Elections specifies the status
and powers of local and international election observers, reporters,
and candidate representatives, though details on these provisions
were not reported today.

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COMMENT
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12. (SBU) The dissolution of the Mazhilis and the announcement of
early elections came as no surprise, given the buzz around the
capital in the last few weeks and the fact that new elections are
necessary to implement the recent reforms and move toward a greater
role for political parties. Post will continue to monitor the
situation closely as more details about the legislation signed June
19 are published.

ORDWAY