Three exit polls indicated that Kazakhstan’s newly formed Adilet party had won a large majority in the August 23 snap parliamentary election, Reuters reported. Published by state media, the polls put the party’s share between 70% and 72%, with turnout above 74%.
Adilet was established by senior aides to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and absorbed the previously dominant Amanat party. Reuters described its apparent victory as likely to deepen Tokayev’s control at the expense of figures associated with former president Nursultan Nazarbayev. Four smaller opposition parties were also projected to enter parliament, although the report described them as widely regarded as loyal to Tokayev.
The election followed adoption of a constitution replacing the two-chamber legislature with a single chamber. Reuters also reported that Kazakhstan’s Supreme Court had said the new constitution permitted Tokayev to seek a fresh seven-year term. The figures cited were exit-poll estimates rather than a final certified count. They nevertheless pointed to a substantial institutional consolidation around the president in a country important to international energy and minerals markets.