By Victoria Panfilova, an observer of Nezavisimaya Gazeta, exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
On April 26 early presidential elections will be held in Kazakhstan. The incumbent president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, nominated by the Nur Otan party, is the number one candidate. More than 20 candidates are running for this post. The most famous of them is the leader of the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan, Turgun Syzdykov, and the chief editor of the Anyz Adam magazine, Zharylkap Kalybai. The rest of the candidates are a motley crew. For example, the head of the Federation of Trade Unions, the head of the Union of Muslims, a temporarily unemployed man, some environmentalists and even a shaman. Serious social and political organizations of Kazakhstan have decided to support the candidacy of Nazarbayev. Such a remarkable force as the National Social-Democratic Party of Kazakhstan (NSDP) has decided not to participate in the presidential election and, accordingly, is not nominating a candidate.
Nursultan Nazarbayev, who supported the public initiative for early elections, has survived a long pause before agreeing to run for another presidential term. On the eve of International Women's Day, he joked that the next few months he had other plans and proposed "changing the scenery." However, on March 11 at the congress of the Nur Otan party he agreed to participate in early elections.
An impetus for early elections was the economic crisis and the foreign policy situation. Stability in Central Asia is under threat because of the situation in Afghanistan and the growing influence of Islamic State throughout the region. The rivalry between Russia, China and the West for influence in the region adds tension. The multi-vectoral policy of Kazakhstan has come under some pressure. Another confirmation of the powers of Nursultan Nazarbayev as the undisputed leader of Kazakhstan is capable of having a positive impact on political stability, to support the authorities in negotiations with the great powers, and to discourage certain circles from organizing "color processes" in the Central Asian nation.
Experts describe Nursultan Nazarbayev's speech to the Congress of Nur Otan party as an electoral program. The President intends to conduct serious economic and political reforms. The economic unit is well represented in the program of Nurly Jol. Nazarbayev also mentioned the need for the legalization of capital: "This is the last opportunity for us all to return money from offshore to the country and live in peace." Nursultan Nazarbayev has guaranteed once again that those who legalize property and money will not be brought to justice. The President has promised to strike a crushing blow to corruption.
As for the political problems, the main task is reform of the state apparatus. It consists of two parts: certification and a new influx of civil servants. "It is important to make the civil service corps professional and self-sufficient," Nazarbayev said. According to him, elections, changes of ministers, regional heads and other leaders should not affect the operation of the administrative civil service.Special attention was drawn to Nazarbayev's thesis about democracy. He warned of the danger of accelerated implementation of democratic principles. "A series of recent civil wars and bloody conflicts in different regions of the world have shown that ill-conceived and forced democratization does not guarantee the stability of the state and does not provide successful economic modernization," the president said. He remembered the events of 1991, when the USSR collapsed, "There was general publicity, and there was no one to clean up the streets." According to him, this was the cause of antipathy to the word "democracy": "Democracy has become synonymous with poverty, theft and murder. But this is not right. Democracy is a noble cause. Many prosperous states live according to this system." Nazarbayev proposed emulating Singapore and Malaysia.Nursultan Nazarbayev needs a new popular mandate to implement the announced plans - Kazakhstan will have to go through unpopular but vital steps to overcome or mitigate the crisis. After receiving the mandate of national trust, the economic bloc of the country will be able to work in a relatively calm mode.According to most experts, Nazarbayev's victory seems to be predetermined. The general situation is that only he can keep stability in the country. In particular, answering questions of the Almaty online magazine 'Vlast', Kazakhstan's political analyst and the editor-in-chief of Kazakhstan's biographical encyclopedia 'Who is Who in Kazakhstan', Daniyar Ashimbayev, said that "the second president of Kazakhstan has not been born yet... there was such an anecdote 10-15 years ago. Today, it has not lost its relevance. The country has no another person who would have the status of a leader and who would be recognized by all groups of Kazakhstan - ethnic, social and regional."
As for the political problems, the main task is reform of the state apparatus. It consists of two parts: certification and a new influx of civil servants. "It is important to make the civil service corps professional and self-sufficient," Nazarbayev said. According to him, elections, changes of ministers, regional heads and other leaders should not affect the operation of the administrative civil service.
Special attention was drawn to Nazarbayev's thesis about democracy. He warned of the danger of accelerated implementation of democratic principles. "A series of recent civil wars and bloody conflicts in different regions of the world have shown that ill-conceived and forced democratization does not guarantee the stability of the state and does not provide successful economic modernization," the president said. He remembered the events of 1991, when the USSR collapsed, "There was general publicity, and there was no one to clean up the streets." According to him, this was the cause of antipathy to the word "democracy": "Democracy has become synonymous with poverty, theft and murder. But this is not right. Democracy is a noble cause. Many prosperous states live according to this system." Nazarbayev proposed emulating Singapore and Malaysia.
Nursultan Nazarbayev needs a new popular mandate to implement the announced plans - Kazakhstan will have to go through unpopular but vital steps to overcome or mitigate the crisis. After receiving the mandate of national trust, the economic bloc of the country will be able to work in a relatively calm mode.
According to most experts, Nazarbayev's victory seems to be predetermined. The general situation is that only he can keep stability in the country. In particular, answering questions of the Almaty online magazine 'Vlast', Kazakhstan's political analyst and the editor-in-chief of Kazakhstan's biographical encyclopedia 'Who is Who in Kazakhstan', Daniyar Ashimbayev, said that "the second president of Kazakhstan has not been born yet... there was such an anecdote 10-15 years ago. Today, it has not lost its relevance. The country has no another person who would have the status of a leader and who would be recognized by all groups of Kazakhstan - ethnic, social and regional."
