Tokayev bites a democratic reform bullet in Kazakhstan
Asia TimesNov 21, 2022
Kazakh Pres. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev secured a second term in Sunday's snap presidential election, winning 81.3% of the vote, the country's Central Election Commission announced Monday.
According to the preliminary results, Tokayev's five opposing candidates scored low single-digit results, with the "against all" option achieving the second-best result of 5.8%. Turnout in the early elections announced by Tokayev in September was 69.4%, with 11M voters registered.
Kazakhstan still has a long way to go before it can be called a full-fledged democracy. However, Tokayev's election victory indicates that Kazakhs support his important reforms. Besides, with his government refusing to side with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and instead turning its attention to China and the US, the country is clearly on the right track.
Given the short campaign period — which began in late October — and Tokayev's five obscure rivals, the snap elections were a farce. Moreover, thanks to his "reforms," the authoritarian Tokayev can now secure a seven-year term in office. And although he pretends to distance himself from Russia over the Ukraine war, it was only with Moscow's support that he was able to quell the nationwide protests and thus hold on to power.