TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Kazakhstan was voting Sunday in a parliamentary election that is expected to further strengthen President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s grip on power in Central Asia’s largest nation.The pro-presidential Adilet party is widely predicted to win an overwhelming majority, with several smaller parties loyal to Tokayev also anticipated to enter parliament. The vote is the country’s first election to a new, single-chamber parliament called the Kurultai.The 73-year-old Tokayev, a former Soviet official and Kazakh diplomat who previously worked at the United Nations, has been in office since 2019.Sunday’s vote is the culmination of a constitutional overhaul that Tokayev initiated in March, when 87% of voters supported a referendum to merge the two chambers of parliament into one and grant the president authority to appoint key officials, subject to parliamentary approval, including reestablishing the vice presidency.
Tokayev, who has sought to maintain a delicate balance between Moscow and the West since sanctions were imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine, has justified the changes by citing the need for rapid decision-making in a fast-changing world.Last month, Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court ruled that the amendments effectively reset the clock on Tokayev’s previous terms in office, opening the door for him to run for another seven-year term.
