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1 of 3 Photo: Sergei Grits/AP/TT
Kazakhstan says it has stopped a planned coup attempt ahead of Sunday’s new elections in the country.
In the election, the incumbent president is expected to cement his grip on power, but discontent is bubbling among voters after the violent protests in January.
According to the country’s National Security Committee, seven supporters of opposition politician Muchtar Ablijazov, who lives in exile in France, planned to “organize riots and a coup and to proclaim a new interim government.” The seven have been arrested.
Ablijazov, a former energy minister, loudly encouraged the pro-democracy protests that rocked the country in January this year via social media. More than 230 people were killed as the government responded to the protesters with brutal violence.
President Kasym-Jomart Tokajev is expected to cement his hold on power in Sunday’s new election, which was called last fall after the president announced that a “radical” reset of the country’s political system was needed. A referendum on the constitution was held this summer, where a series of reforms to the country’s power relations were given the green light.
“The election is a farce”
Assessors believe that the reforms are largely aimed at strengthening Tokayev’s position of power. The opposing candidates in this weekend’s new election are described as five largely unknown politicians.
– There is no credible candidate. There is no real choice. I will vote against everyone, says Almaty resident Asset Terirgalijev.
– The election is a farce, says another voter.
Tokayev, hand-picked successor to Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled Kazakhstan with an iron fist for almost 29 years, wants to get his own mandate in the new election. The 69-year-old presents himself as a reformist leader capable of uniting the country and tackling corruption, but the deep social divisions that lay behind the protests in January remain. The deadly violence during the protests – along with testimonies of torture and brutal abuse of arrested protesters – has chipped away at Tokayev’s image.
Rift between East and West
The former Soviet state of Kazakhstan is also in a geopolitical bind. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kazakhstan has walked a difficult-to-navigate balancing act between Russia and the West, writes The Diplomat.
Astana continues to describe Moscow as a strategic partner, but has not recognized Russian territorial claims in Ukraine and has respected the Western sanctions policy.
Tokayev also has Russian President Vladimir Putin to thank in part for ending the protests in January, when Russia sent Russian forces of the post-Soviet military alliance ODKB to help.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kazakhstan’s Russia-dependent economy is suffering badly from the consequences of the war.
Facts
Kazakhstan
The former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan proclaimed an independent state in October 1991. The country has a large Russian population and Russia remains the country’s most important ally.
The Central Asian country is rich in natural resources and oil exports account for approximately 70 percent of export earnings.
The country has a population of nearly 19 million inhabitants. The area covers 2.7 million square kilometers, which is the size of Argentina.
The country’s first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, ran an authoritarian regime for 29 years with limited space for political opposition and the media.
When he resigned in 2019, the post was taken over by his ally, Kasym-Zjomart Tokajev.
Sources: National Encyclopedia, AFP
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