‘Kazakhstan calls early elections in response to negative economic climate’

AMMAN — To overcome the current negative economic climate, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev approved a parliamentary initiative to dissolve the lower house and call early parliamentary elections to be held on March 20, 2016, Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

“Falling commodity prices and external factors such as the sanctions on Russia and falling demand from China have had a negative effect on our economy. It is no secret that the upcoming year will be a challenge. Strong leadership and a clear strategy will be essential for our nation to overcome the current economic climate,” Idrissov was quoted as saying.

According to the Central Election Commission of Kazakhstan, 107 deputies of the Majilis (lower house) of the parliament will be elected in total, the statement said. This includes 98 deputies from the parties and nine from the People’s Assembly of Kazakhstan. A total of 3,335 deputies of maslikhats (local representative bodies) of all levels will be elected as well.

The Kazakh government is inviting international observers to monitor the campaign and electoral process across the country, the minister noted in the statement. 

 “A strong and stable economy has been a key priority for our president and the ‘Nurly Zhol’ (Path to the Future) New Economic Policy has already started investing $9 billion in public spending over three years, mainly in infrastructure development, which will create thousands of new jobs in our country,” he said.

He added that economic plans are designed to diversify the economy away from over-reliance on hydrocarbons and engage with regional initiatives such as China’s “New Silk Road” infrastructure plan for Asia.