Kazakhstan votes in parliament poll set to tighten Tokayev's grip

Tallinn,UPDATED: Aug 23, 2026 12:06 IST

Polling opened on Sunday in Kazakhstan's parliamentary elections, a vote widely expected to further strengthen President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's hold on power in Central Asia's largest country. The ruling pro-presidential Adilet party is expected to win an overwhelming majority, with several smaller parties loyal to Tokayev also likely to enter parliament.

The election is the first for Kazakhstan's new single-chamber parliament, the Kurultai, and follows a constitutional overhaul initiated by Tokayev in March. The changes were approved in a referendum backed by 87 per cent of voters and gave the president the authority to appoint key officials, subject to parliamentary approval, while also re-establishing the vice presidency.

Tokayev, 73, a former Soviet official and Kazakh diplomat who earlier worked at the United Nations, has been in office since 2019. He has said the changes are needed for quick decision-making in a fast-changing world, as he tries to maintain a delicate balance between Moscow and the West after sanctions were imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine.

Last month, Kazakhstan's Constitutional Court ruled that the amendments had effectively reset the clock on Tokayev's earlier terms in office, opening the way for him to run for another seven-year term.

The vote is taking place at a difficult economic moment for Kazakhstan. Inflation reached 10.2 per cent in February, while tax hikes have added to public discontent. Analysts say the economic strain has made the authorities wary of a repeat of the January 2022 unrest, when protests over fuel prices turned violent and left dozens of protesters and police officers dead. They say Tokayev is seeking to guard against such a scenario by concentrating power in his own hands.

Tokayev said the vote would be a "truly historic event". "Without a doubt, these elections will be remembered as perhaps the most interesting in our country's history," Tokayev said on Friday. "Amid unprecedented geopolitical tensions and mounting global challenges, we must firmly and consistently implement our strategy to transform Kazakhstan into a truly developed state."

The election is also being held against a backdrop of intensifying pressure on press freedom. Media organisations have urged Tokayev to drop criminal charges against several journalists under house arrest and to revise the country's laws to ensure press freedom. Authorities have opened about 10 criminal cases against independent journalists and popular bloggers.

The latest case involves Lukpan Akhmedyarov, an independent journalist who runs the YouTube project "Prosto Zhurnalistika", or Simply Journalism. He told The Associated Press that a criminal case was opened against him in August on charges of "disseminating false information" after he published a list of Kazakh citizens fighting in Ukraine. He faces up to seven years in prison.

"In the run-up to these parliamentary elections, repression has intensified sharply, with attacks on independent media, cyberattacks, and criminal cases launched against independent journalists and popular bloggers," Akhmedyarov told AP from Almaty. "It feels like the authorities want to silence all media outlets they don't control - everyone they couldn't reach an agreement with or couldn't buy off." He also said the streets of Kazakhstan's major cities were "flooded with advertisements and posters for the pro-presidential Adilet party" and added: "It is not very difficult to predict the outcome of these elections."

With the ruling party expected to dominate, the election marks a major step in Tokayev's political overhaul, coming at a time of economic strain, tighter control over institutions and growing concern over pressure on independent media.

With PTI Inputs

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