Azernews.Az

ASTANA – Kazakhstan's parliament on Friday approved a referendum to extend President Nursultan Nazarbayev's rule for a third decade, clearing the way for the veteran leader of Central Asia's largest economy to bypass two elections, Reuters reported.

The proposed referendum, criticised by the United States as a "setback for democracy," averts a potential challenge to the 70-year-old Nazarbayev in elections scheduled for 2012 and 2017 and is likely to be welcomed by investors in the resource-rich state because it will help ensure political stability.

"The status quo suits the political and business elite," said political analyst Dosym Satpayev. "It's in their interest that Nazarbayev stay in power for as long as possible, by any means necessary."

Many foreign investors, who have poured more than $150 billion into Kazakhstan during Nazarbayev's two decades in power, rate the absence of a clear succession plan as the single biggest threat to political stability in the ex-Soviet state.

Nazarbayev, known as "Papa" to many Kazakhs, is the only leader independent Kazakhstan has known. Public criticism of the president is taboo and not a single opposition politician sits in parliament.

Were the election to go ahead next year, some analysts believe a challenger to Nazarbayev could have emerged from within a political elite that is nominally loyal to him. The referendum averts that risk.

"It's a spectacle designed to convince people in Kazakhstan and the international community that the president is against the extension of his powers," said opposition politician Bulat Abilov.

Within hours of being asked last week by senators to approve the referendum, Nazarbayev issued a decree rejecting the plan. This decision was overruled by the unanimous vote in parliament.

More than half of Kazakhstan's 9 million registered voters have also signed up to a petition to extend Nazarbayev's rule over the world's 9th-largest country by area until 2020.

"The will of our people is law," said Yerlan Nigmatulin, a deputy in the Mazhilis lower house of parliament.

Kuandyk Turgankulov, head of the Central Election Commission, said the president himself would choose the date of the referendum after signing the bill into law. Parliamentary deputies have said it could take place as early as March.

Opponents of the initiative say Kazakhstan, which has never held elections judged free and fair by international observers, has deserted principles to which it agreed when chairing the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe last year.

"A referendum can never be a substitute for periodic elections," said Janez Lenarcic, director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

"It does not offer a genuine choice between political alternatives and would infringe on the opportunity of citizens to hold their representatives accountable and to effectively exercise their right to vote and be elected," he said.

Ian Kelly, U.S. ambassador to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna, said that by opting for a referendum Kazakhstan would be taking a "step backwards" from its commitments to establishing democracy.

The European Union's mission to the OSCE said in a statement: "Any decision to extend the presidential term in office until 2020 would be in contradiction to Kazakhstan's commitment to democracy and good governance."

At home, popular support for the referendum gained momentum rapidly after being launched by an 850-strong forum of academics, farmers, war veterans and district council members in the eastern city of Oskemen in late December.

The local unit of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, said in a statement it supported the referendum. The company owns the plant where Nazarbayev began his career before ascending the ranks of the Soviet Communist Party.

"Thanks to President Nazarbayev's policies, our Kazakhstan is renowned worldwide and our economy is strengthening and growing," said Yerlan Auganbayev, one of 18,000 steelworkers and family members to sign the petition over three days in December.