Kazakhstan holds elections for deputies of Mazhilis and Maslikhats
Parliamentary election for the Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament, and maslikhats, local representative bodies started in Kazakhstan on March 19
Today, more than 12 million Kazakhstani will vote for the early elections of deputies of the lower house of parliament (Mazhilis) and local representative bodies (maslikhats) in the country.
The Voting began at 07:00 local time.
There are 12,032,550 registered voters in the elections.
Elections to the parliament of Kazakhstan are held for the 8th time since the day of independence.
At a referendum on June 19, 2022, constitutional amendments were adopted, according to which Kazakhstan returned to a mixed electoral system 19 years later.
98 deputies will be elected to the lower house of parliament (there were 107), of which 69 will be elected from party lists, and 29 from majoritarian districts.
7 political parties and 525 independent candidates take part in the elections.
Election results are expected to be made public within 10 days.
About 800 foreign observers are monitoring the elections. Among them are representatives of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking Countries (TURKPA), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the CIS.
On January 19, 2023, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dissolved the lower house of parliament and maslikhats of all levels. Early elections were scheduled for March 19 as part of the reform of the electoral system.
