2012 Kazakh legislative election
Legislative elections were held in Kazakhstan on 15 January 2012. The result was a victory for the Nur Otan party, which won 83 of the 98 seats in the Mäjilis. However, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) stated that the election "did not meet fundamental principles of democratic elections."[1] The elections marked the first time that the second-placed party would gain parliamentary seats irrespective of whether it cleared the 7% electoral threshold.[2] Due to the Zhanaozen massacre and the resulting state of emergency there, the election was not planned to be held in Zhanaozen.[3] However, this decision was overturned on 10 January 2012.[4]
Electoral system[edit]
The 98 directly-elected deputies of the Mäjilis were elected from a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation with a 7% electoral threshold. Seats were allocated using the largest remainder method. If parties had an equal largest remainder, the party that was registered first was awarded the seat. If only one party crossed the threshold, the party with the second highest number of votes was to be awarded at least two seats.[10] A further nine seats were elected by the Assembly of People, a body selected by the President.[11]
Reactions[edit]
The opposition claimed there was widespread irregularities and fraud. The OSCE and US Department of State did not recognise the elections as democratic.[13]
Miklos Haraszti, the head of the OSCE's long-term election-observation mission, criticized what he called a "tightly controlled campaign environment in which the electoral rights of the citizens were seriously limited." "There was limited public debate and the media, the mass media operates in an environment characterized by self-censorship and in which there is no room for editorial independence in the broadcast media." Haraszti said the "results of the election, including the presence of two parties apart from the state party, can be described as an orchestrated election."[1]