Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

An initiative to hold early presidential elections in Kazakhstan has sparked a wide range of discussions in the society.

The proposal was voiced at a meeting of the Council of Kazakhstan’s Assembly of People on February 14 and immediately unanimously supported by its delegates.

The presidential elections are to be held in Kazakhstan in 2016.

Some believe that early presidential elections in Kazakhstan will pave the way for further economic development. According to them the elections will also prevent economic crisis in the country. Experts believe 2016 will be the peak of the global economic crisis. However, they argue that all parties' focus should be more on work instead of elections preparations.

It is believed that amidst the intensifying global economic crisis, early elections would enable the government to efficiently implement the Nurly-Zhol anti-crisis program and to further pursue the long-term priorities set by the Kazakhstan-2050 National Development Strategy.

Nurlan Erimbetov, the Chairman of the Civil Alliance of Kazakhstan considered that the snap presidential elections will help save money.

“We believe that the idea of holding elections in 2015, help us overcome the current crisis. Next year will see at the same time the presidential and parliamentary elections. In these circumstances, the presidential elections this year will allow to separate them in time and save money,” Erimbetov quoted by Kazakh media.

In the meantime, some believe that the early elections will contribute to strengthening the political stability in the country.

Vladislav Kosarev, MP and the leader of the faction "People's Communists" said early presidential elections will strengthen political stability and inter-ethnic harmony in Kazakhstan society.

On February 14, the Board of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan expressed its official support to the proposal of holding presidential elections in Kazakhstan ahead of time.

Different political parties and fractions have voiced their support for the proposal.

Party "Ak Jol" in Kazakhstan also voiced support for this initiative, saying that the long-term national interests necessitated this fateful step. It said in the context of global instability, the pressure of the global economic crisis, Kazakhstan needs to focus on the implementation of anti-crisis policy the Nurly-Zhol, put forward by President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The initiative has also gained the backing of Kazakhstan's ruling party Nur Otan. The party urged the citizens, all political and social forces to support the initiative of holding the presidential elections yearly.

However, despite the Kazakh society’s strong support to the proposal, no candidate has been named for the presidential elections. But, some officials have called on people to unite around incumbent president Nazarbayev, who enjoys great popularity in the country.

During the last presidential elections in 2011, President Nazarbayev gained a landslide victory with nearly 96 percent of the votes and since then the citizens of Kazakhstan have continued to support him.

Experts believe that economic uncertainties, mostly resulted from low oil prices and the Western sanctions on Russia over Ukraine crisis are the main reason behind the decision.

“Moreover Kazakhstan’s national currency, tenge, is quite weak and feared to be devaluated. In addition the Eurasian integration project is getting less attractive for the Kazakh citizens (if it ever was at all) and Astana seems growingly trapped in this process,” Nicolas de Pedro, researcher at CIDOB Barcelona Centre for International Affairs told Trend.

He said snap elections reduce the risks and allow a better management of the process from the perspective of the Akorda (presidential palace).

Pedro also added that Kazakhstan will for sure hold early presidential elections in 2015 as it was proposed, noting that the early elections might be expected in just few months, probably no later than four.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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