Kazakhstan holds parliamentary election expected to cement president’s grip

Only state-approved parties loyal to President Tokayev permitted to take part amid a sweeping constitutional overhaul.Voters are heading to the polls in Kazakhstan’s snap parliamentary election, which critics say will strengthen the power of the president.Polling stations opened at 7am local time (02:00 GMT) and are scheduled to close at 8pm (15:00 GMT). More than 12 million of Kazakhstan’s 20 million people are eligible to vote.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Kazakhstan parliamentary elections begin: What’s at stake?list 2 of 4Ukraine’s Zelenskyy set to meet Trump as Iran and Ukraine wars convergelist 3 of 4Kazakhstan releases first tiger to restore extinct specieslist 4 of 4Ukraine’s 40-day campaign has not brought the war closer to an endend of listThe election will usher in a new 145-member unicameral legislature that is expected to be dominated by supporters of President Tokayev" class="entity-link entity-person" data-entity-id="44506" data-entity-type="person">Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who has led the Central Asian country since 2019.Constitutional overhauls earlier this year abolished Kazakhstan’s upper house in favour of a one-body parliament. Officials claim the change will give parliament more weight in political decision-making, having previously been confined to a mostly auxiliary role.However, only seven state-approved parties, all loyal to Tokayev, have been allowed to put forth candidates.The constitutional changes also reset term limits to allow Tokayev to run again in 2029.The 73-year-old was the chosen successor of longtime leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled for almost 30 years from the 1990s. But he broke with his predecessor amid cost-of-living protests in 2022 that led to the deaths of 238 people, and has since touted a reform agenda called “Kazakhstan" class="entity-link entity-topic" data-entity-id="191364" data-entity-type="topic">Just Kazakhstan”.A former Soviet state, Kazakhstan balances relations with China, Europe and Russia, with Tokayev navigating recent tensions over Moscow’s war with Ukraine.Kazakhstan is oil-rich and makes up about 2 percent of daily world supply, mostly exporting to European countries through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium to Russia’s port of Novorossiysk.