Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Thursday he plans to hold early presidential elections this fall and will shorten the presidency to a seven-year term.
In an address to the Central Asian country’s parliament, Tokayev also suggested holding early parliamentary elections in the first half of 2023 after his country experienced a political crisis earlier this year that left more than 200 people dead.
“I propose that we hold early presidential elections in the fall of 2022,” Tokayev said, saying action was needed to “strengthen our statehood” and “maintain the momentum of reforms.”
Kazakhstan has 2024 presidential elections and 2025 parliamentary elections.
Tokayev said he would prefer the parliamentary vote after constitutional amendments earlier this year set “completely new standards for a political system with fair and open rules of the game”.
The presidency’s term, meanwhile, would be capped at a seven-year term, he said, down from the current two five-year terms.
“For me, the interests of the state come first. Therefore, I am ready to go to early presidential elections despite the reduction in my term,” Tokayev said.
January’s unrest rocked energy-rich Kazakhstan, one of the most stable Central Asian countries that gained independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The bloodshed – which erupted in peaceful protests against a rise in car fuel prices – left more than 230 dead.
It came after career diplomat Tokayev, 69, was handpicked in 2019 to replace him in the presidency by Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had ruled Kazakhstan for nearly three decades.
Kazakhstan voted in June for constitutional changes that Tokayev described as a departure from “super-presidential” rule.
Among the most notable constitutional changes was the lack of special privileges for 82-year-old Nazabayev.
Before the January crisis, Tokayev was widely viewed as a ruler overshadowed by Nazarbayev and his super-rich relatives.
Even after his resignation as president, Nazarbayev retained the constitutional title of “Elbasy” or “Leader of the Nation” – a role that allowed him to influence policy-making regardless of his formal position.
The new constitution does not recognize this status, while another amendment prevents relatives of the president from holding government offices.
Both the former and current presidents are allies of neighboring Russia, and the arrival of troops from a Moscow-led security bloc in January tightened Tokayev’s grip on the situation.
However, since the beginning of Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, there have been tensions between Russia and Kazakhstan, with the Central Asian country trying to balance ties with the West and ally Moscow.
