Tazeen Akhtar <\/p>\n
The Republic of Kazakhstan is heading towards a New Kazakhstan that is more Just and More Fair and more Beneficial and more Concerned for the citizens after the public elected their national and regional representatives. A first and foremost Kazakhstan is the destination of the nation. A New Sun is rising from the lands of Kazakh nation and soon its light is expected to enlighten the whole vast territories of the 9th largest state in the world. The Parliamentary elections were held on 19 March in the light of comprehensive and complete set of Constitutional Reforms conceived, composed, conveyed to all citizens and finally carried as imperative for the bright future of the republic where the public will have more rights more opportunities to flourish according to their self and skills. I visited the capital city Astana on 25-27 April to observe the outcome of the elections and how the public is looking forward to the newly elected Members of National and Regional Assemblies to deliver what the public have been assured of. I found the MPs committed to fulfill the promises to the people and the people are satisfied that they are about to enter into a better system of governance.
\nThe M\u00e4jilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Kazakhstan, known as the Parlament\u0131.A Maslikhat (Kazakh: \u041c\u04d9\u0441\u043b\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0442) is a local representative body (parliament) in Kazakhstan that is elected by a population of a region, district and city.
\nThe Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan Mr. Yerzhan Kistafin rightly shared in a briefing that \u201celections for the Mazhilis and the maslikhats of all levels are surely a milestone event for Kazakhstan, marking what has been one of the most transformative periods in our country\u2019s modern history over the past year.This upcoming election is going to be yet another step towards greater participatory democracy.\u201d Foreign media representatives met many public leaders and the parliamentarians in visit to Astana on 25 to 27 April only to observe the outcome of the elections and how the public and their representatives opine about the expectations attached to the elections.
\nI had discussions with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Roman Vassilenko, newly elected deputies of Mazhilis ; Ms Aigul KUSPAN \u2013 Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security of Mazhilis of Parliaments of Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. SARYM Aidos \u2013 Secretary of the above mentioned Committee, Ms DEMENTIEVA Natalia \u2013 Member of the Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal Reforms of Mazhilis of PArliament , Mr RAKHIMZHANOV Askhat \u2013 Member of the same committee, Mr SERIKOV Tansaule \u2013 Member of the Committee for Social and Cultural Development of Mazhilis of Parliament. I collected the information from Mr. Yerkin Tukumov, Director General of Kazakhstan Strategic Studies Institute. Visit to the Council of Senate was also part of my observation tour. At the conclusion of these meetings and discussions, We can expect and state without apprehension of contradiction that Kazakhstan is all set to leap forward into New Kazakhstan that will be more democratic, more inclusive, more developed, more peaceful and more conducive to live in after the Parliamentary Elections of March 19, 2023 followed by a complete set of constitutional reforms in the largest economy in Central Asia. President Kassym Jomart Tokayev and his team is fully confident that the reforms will bring big change in the society and into the lives of the Public of the Republic.
\nThe country had at least 4 elections on different levels during past one year that depicts the wish and will of the nation to transform the state altogether to meet the challenges. A comprehensive political modernization was seen by the foreign media in Astana that strongly convinced them that a New Kazakhstan has been built. Change and transformation from old to new has been a world phenomenon in last at least one decade. We have observed it in Pakistan.Former President General Musharraf raised the slogan of \u201cPakistan First\u201d while former Prime Minister Imran Khan claimed to make New Pakistan and bring Nuclear Change in the State. How far they succeeded in materializing their manifestos or slogans , it is our local debate, but in case of Kazakhstan, the signals and signs in the society, parliament and government of Kazakhstan are strengthening the hopes and trust in the leadership that the assurances they have given to the public are soon going to be fulfilled.
\nPresident Kassym-Jomart Tokayev first proposed holding elections to the Mazhilis and maslikhats in his Address to the Nation on September 1 last year.This legislative election constitutes the final stage in the political renewal cycle initiated by President Tokayev, which started with a presidential election on November 20 last year and continued with a Senate election on January 14 this year.
\nSignificant changes have been made to the electoral system in comparison to the previous elections following constitutional amendments last year. In particular, a proportional-majoritarian model was used for the first time since 2004, where 30 percent of Mazhilis members are elected in single-member districts. The threshold for political parties to gain seats in parliament has been lowered from seven to five percent. Other changes include an \u201cagainst all\u201d column on the ballots, and a 30 percent quota for women, youth, and persons with special needs in party lists.Two new parties that participated in the election (Respublica and Baytaq) were able to register due to simplified party registration rules.
\nPrevious legislative election in Kazakhstan took place in January 2021. Five parties participated in that election, with three parties gaining seats in the Mazhilis \u2013 the ruling Amanat party (previously Nur Otan), Aq Jol, and the People\u2019s Party. Elections to the Mazhilis (the lower chamber of the Kazakh parliament) and the maslikhats (local administrative bodies) took place on March 19. Seven political parties competed in the election, including two new parties.
\nIn line with recent legislative changes in Kazakhstan, political parties need to pass the five percent threshold to gain seats in the Mazhilis, which will consist of 98 members \u2013 69 elected by party lists and 29 in single-mandate constituencies. There were 281 party list candidates vying for 69 seats and approximately 370 single-mandate candidates (including independent and self-nominated) seeking 29 seats in the lower house.<\/p>\n
The writer is Editor of Urdu Newspaper and English Magazine based in Islamabad can be reached at tazeen303@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tazeen Akhtar The Republic of Kazakhstan is heading towards a New Kazakhstan that is more Just and More Fair and more Beneficial and more Concerned for the citizens after the public elected their national and regional representatives. A first and foremost Kazakhstan is the destination of the nation. A New Sun is rising from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[9929,2068,12593,3638],"class_list":{"0":"post-329732","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-background","8":"tag-impacts","9":"tag-reforms-in-kazakhstan","10":"tag-tazeen-akhtar"},"yoast_head":"\n