Kazakhstan

I

Communications

The telephone system is one of the poorest in the region and distribution of lines in 2004 was some 167 lines per 1,000 of the population. Attempts to find foreign investment in the telecommunications sector was unsuccessful until 1997 when the South Korean conglomerate Daewoo took a 40 per cent stake in the national company. Economic problems in Asia have led to speculation that improvements to the system may be slow.

V

Government

Following a referendum in August 1995, almost 90 per cent of the electorate endorsed a new constitution, which was adopted in September. Under the terms of the constitution, the Republic of Kazakhstan is a democratic, secular, and unitary state under presidential rule.

A

Executive and Legislature

The president, elected for a seven-year (previously five-year) term by universal suffrage, is the head of state, appoints the government, and serves as commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces. All citizens of 18 years of age and over are eligible to vote. The president may not serve more than two consecutive terms in office. The supreme representative body is a bicameral parliament. The Senate (the upper house), which has 47 members, comprises 40 members elected by 4,000 representatives of the regions and the capital, and 7 members appointed by the president. The Majlis (lower house) has 77 members: 67 deputies elected by universal suffrage and 10 delegates appointed from party lists according to the system of proportional representation. Elected candidates for the Majlis must gain an absolute majority, and are not permitted to profess a political affiliation. One half of the deputies in the Senate are subject to re-election every three (previously two) years.

Constitutional changes voted on by the legislature in October 1998 included measures to hold presidential and legislative elections in January 1999, one year ahead of schedule, and an extension of the presidential term from five to seven years. The amendments also included measures to extend the term of office of deputies in the lower house from four to five years, an increase in the minimum age of presidential candidates from 35 to 45 years, and the abolition of the maximum age of 65 years for presidential candidates.

B

Political Parties

The role of opposition parties is somewhat limited; some parties, including the People’s Congress of Kazakhstan, and the People’s Unity Party of Kazakhstan, have links with the president. However, an umbrella alliance of the opposition movement, the People’s Front of Kazakhstan, at the other end of the political spectrum, has been the subject of the attention by the Committee for National Security (KNB, the successor to the KGB). Following his re-election in January 1999 President Nazarbayev promised to increase the role of political parties. In 2001 the People’s Congress Party announced its merger with three other opposition groupings to form a new United Democratic Party.

C

Judiciary

Justice is administered by the Supreme Court, and its chairman is nominated by the president. The Constitutional Court was replaced by the Constitutional Council, and its chairman, and the Prosecutor-General are all nominated by the president.