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The change in form promised by Kazakhstan’s new parliament does not appear to be matched by a change in its function.
Kazakhstan’s new unicameral parliament, the Kurultai, gathered for its first session today. On August 23 the all-but-ordained Adilet party triumphed over an array of officially sanctioned opposition parties, winning a thumping 71 percent of the vote in the first election after Kazakhstan’s March constitutional revamp.
According to the Central Electoral Commission, which registered new legislators in an official ceremony on August 27, Adilet will have 110 deputies of a possible 145 sitting in the new body, likely led by presidential advisor-turned-party leader Aibek Dadebay.
As for its legislative agenda, all signs indicate that the Kurultai will largely pick up where the old parliament left off. Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spent the last week plotting a roadmap for the incoming Kurultai, and his to-do list is grounded in long-standing governmental priorities.
