2005 Kazakh presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan on 4 December 2005. Incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in power since 1989, sought and won a 3rd term against four other candidates. Opposition candidates were allowed some access to the mass media, but this was still restricted. According to western election observers, opposition candidates also suffered considerable harassment. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) criticized the elections, calling them unfair, but noted improvements.

2005 Kazakh presidential election

4 December 2005
Turnout	76.8% 10.2 pp
Nominee Nursultan Nazarbayev Zharmakhan Tuyakbay Party Otan EQU Popular vote 6,147,517 445,934 Percentage 91.15% 6.61%
Results by region
President before election Nursultan Nazarbayev Otan Elected President Nursultan Nazarbayev Otan

Background

Zamanbek Nurkadilov, described as the leading figure of the opposition, was unable to take part, having died shortly before the election. A former mayor of Almaty and government minister, Nurkadilov had joined the opposition. He was found shot dead in November, shortly after reportedly saying that he would go public with documents proving government corruption. Near his body was "a pillow pierced by bullets that may have been used as a silencer". The official cause of death was presented as suicide, with a report stating that Nurkadilov had shot himself twice in the chest and then once in the head.[1][2][3]

Results

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Nursultan Nazarbayev	Otan	6,147,517	91.15
Zharmakhan Tuyakbay	Coalition for a Just Kazakhstan	445,934	6.61
Alikhan Baimenov	Democratic Party of Kazakhstan Bright Path	108,730	1.61
Yerassyl Abylkassymov	Communist People's Party	23,252	0.34
Mels Eleusizov	Tabighat	18,834	0.28
Invalid/blank votes		127,304	–
Total		6,871,571	100
Registered voters/turnout		8,949,199	76.78
Source: Embassy of Kazakhstan in the United Kingdom

Reactions

Onalsyn Zhumabekov, Chairman of Kazakhstan's Central Election Commission, declared the election valid. About 1,600 observers monitored the election, including 465 from the influential Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Bruce George, coordinator for observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, was highly critical of the election: "Regrettably, despite some efforts which were undertaken to improve the process, the authorities did not exhibit sufficient political will to hold a genuinely good election."

The OSCE has gone on record noting the following issues with the election "Unauthorised persons interfering in polling stations, cases of multiple voting, ballot box stuffing and pressure on students to vote were observed during voting and during the count, observers saw tampering with result protocols and a wide range of procedural violations."

References

1. "Kazakh Opposition Figure's Death Ruled Suicide", Radio Free Europe, 29 November 2005
2. "Kazakhstan opposition member slain", New York Times, November 13, 2011
3. "'Election' présidentielle au Kazakhstan", Euronews, 3 April 2011