Politics in Kazakhstan

Main article: Kazakhstan

The political system of modern Kazakhstan is closely intertwined with the political will of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who voluntarily transferred the post of president of the country in 2019 with the transition to the post of Elbasy - national authority. This integral element of the cult of personality in the country was abolished in the summer of 2022 along with amendments to the Constitution.

Zhuzes

Main article: Zhuzy in Kazakhstan

This is hard to believe, but at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, the political and economic processes in Kazakhstan are directly influenced by tribal clans and clans that developed back in the Middle Ages. These unions are called zhuzes. The entire administrative system is built on these zhuzes and their hierarchy. There are 3 zhuzes in total:

• senior zhuz (located in the southern part of Kazakhstan),
• middle zhuz (occupies the territory of central Kazakhstan) and
• junior zhuz (extends in the western part of the country).

Zhuzes are divided into tribes and clans. Each of the tribes and clans has a different authority and a different level of influence. The names of the zhuzam are given due to the seniority of the birth.

Presidential Republic

According to the constitution, Kazakhstan is an exemplary democratic state that professes legal and secular ideas. The country is a unitary state with a presidential form of government. The only possible source of power in the country is recognized by the people. Ideological and political pluralism is proclaimed in Kazakhstan. The state language is Kazakh. The Russian language does not have state status on a par with Kazakh, but is the language of interethnic communication.

As a division of political regimes, there are several equally significant grounds: dichotomy competitiveness/non-competition and the fact of the presence/absence of a dominant actor.

Expressing the categories of the concept of V. Gelman, one can characterize the political regime in Kazakhstan as monocentric with the predominance of a dominant actor based on formal and informal institutions. In other words, for 2022, Kazakhstan does not seek to fit into the ideal system of democratic political regimes.

This view has a number of irrefutable arguments:

The scope of the president's powers neutralizes all potential polycentrism.

• In Kazakhstan, there is a process of merging property and political power. The clan, relying on an impressive economic resource, is able to control and regulate the media agenda in order to manipulate public opinion and increase by virtue of this symbolic capital;

• A strong bureaucratic apparatus with a central position in the presidential administration, descending vertically political goals and objectives.

Powers of the President

The political principle of separation of powers in Kazakhstan has been implemented. The totality of the prerogatives of the President of Kazakhstan is largely reminiscent of the complex powers of the Russian president.

The head of state (and concurrently the supreme commander-in-chief) is elected for 5 years by universal and secret ballot.

The most significant powers that the president has include the following:

• the right to dissolve parliament,
• the appointment of referendums and parliamentary elections,
• legislative veto power,
• the right to appoint a prime minister with the consent of parliament,
• has the right to repeal government regulations,
• the right to impose a state of martial law and a state of emergency.

Parliament: Senate and Mazhilis

Main article: Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Party system

Kazakhstan is a multi-party state. For 2022, 6 parties officially operate in the country:

• "Amanat" (from 2006 to 2022 was called "Nur Otan"),
• Democratic Party "Ak Zhol,"
• People's Party of Kazakhstan,
• Nationwide Social Democratic Party,
• People's Democratic Patriotic Party "Auyl,"
• political party "Adal."

The law passed in 2002 on the re-registration of political parties greatly reduced the number of active actors of internal political competition in the country.

In Kazakhstan, as in any other country, there is a list of unregistered or banned parties. In Kazakhstan, these include:

• PDA,
• Democratic choice of Kazakhstan,
• QMS,
• PSV,
• Oyan,
• CPD,
• CP,
• ET.

Judicial system

The judicial system of Kazakhstan has the following structure:

• crowning the hierarchy of the Supreme Court (formed by the Senate on the proposal of the president),
• this is followed by various kinds of local courts,
• and finally, specialized courts.

Thus, the political weight is shifted in favor of the figure of the president, who controls in many respects the adoption of laws, the appointment of heads of local self-government, government, courts, and the guaranteed presence of 10% of pro-presidential deputies in the Senate.

Local government

For 2022, the country is divided into 17 regions and 3 cities of federal significance. All local power is concentrated in the hands of the so-called akims, who are official representatives of the president and heads of the local executive branch, and maslikhats (representative authorities) elected, as is established, by direct secret ballot.

Political role of military/security forces

The role of the military in the political process for 2022 is insignificant. The armed forces are few and loyal to the central government. The role of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and special services, as well as the prosecutor's office as a tool of politics, is very significant. In addition to maintaining law and order, these structures are tasked with combating Islamic radicalism, drug trafficking, the subversive activities of third countries and internal forces. The head of state personally controls the work of law enforcement agencies.

Political role of non-governmental organizations. The role of the media

The use of non-governmental organizations as a tool in the socio-political life of states is a trend of the late XX - early XXI centuries in world practice.

Cooperation between Kazakhstan and NGOs began in the early 2000s with the holding of the Civil Forum. From about that moment, the rapid quantitative growth of NGOs in the country began.

Internal conflicts

In the case of Kazakhstan, internal conflicts for 2022 can be classified on several grounds:

• Ethnic problems in Kazakhstan are quite predictable due to the fact that the country is multinational (more than 100 nationalities live here).
• Spatial-geographical conflicts reflect asymmetric development of industrial north, oil-bearing west and agricultural regions.
• Intra-elite disagreements are explained by the existence of clan clans competing both among themselves and within themselves.

History

2022

Tokayev won the presidential elections in Kazakhstan with 81.31% of the vote

In November 2022, Tokayev won the presidential elections in Kazakhstan with 81.31% of the vote, follows from the final data of the CEC.

Ex-President of Kazakhstan Nazarbayev said that since 2019 he is a pensioner

January 18, 2022 Nursultan Nazarbayev made a video message.

The purpose of organized riots and an attack on Kazakhstan was to destroy the integrity of the country and the foundations of the state.

He said that President Tokayev has full power, there is no conflict or confrontation in the elite of Kazakhstan, rumors on this topic are absolutely groundless.

"In 2019, I transferred the powers of the president to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and since then I have been a pensioner. I am currently on a well-deserved vacation in the capital of Kazakhstan and have not left anywhere. "

See also

• Domestic policy of Russia