2019 Kazakh presidential election

• Talgat Yergaliyev (Union of Builders of Kazakhstan), a former Member of the Mazhilis.[22][23] Withdrew his candidacy.
• Jumatai Aliyev (Halyk Demografiyasy), Rector of Central Asian University.[24][25] Rejected due to a failed Kazakh language test.[15]

Tokayev became an acting president after Nazarbayev resigned from office on 20 March 2019. As a result, early elections were announced on 9 April. He was nominated by the Nur Otan on 23 April to be a presidential candidate and became registered on 3 May. Tokayev sought for continuation of Nazarbayev's policies in strengthening the nation, continuing peace, improving lives of citizens, and entering Kazakhstan into the top 30 most developed nations.[26]

Tokayev was mocked on social media for the overuse of modification of his official photos, erasing his wrinkles and double chin.[27][28][29]

Qosanov became a registered candidate on 6 May 2019 of the Ult Tagdyry political movement, existing since 2005. He ran on a platform in fighting against corruption, reducing the powers of a president, allowing direct elections of akims, making Kazakh economy less dependent on raw resources, and prohibiting the construction of nuclear power plants.[30] Qosanov was considered as the only opposition in the race to where he criticized the government actions.[31]

Despite his campaign, he was criticized by other opposition groups for being compromised by the government and instead called for boycott in the polls.[32] It was widely expected that Qosanov wouldn't win the election and instead legitimize it.[33]

On 24 April 2019, Espaeva was nominated to be a presidential candidate for the Ak Zhol party. She became registered on 3 May, making her the first female in Kazakhstan's history to be on a ballot.[34] Espaeva ran a pro-business platform where she promoted competition and entrepreneurship.[35] She called for a reduction in banking interest rates, end in de-offshorization and tax rates for important industries such as in mechanical engineering as well as creation of new industries in rural areas.[36]

Raqymbekov was nominated by the Auyl People's Democratic Patriotic Party on 25 April 2019 to be the presidential candidate in which he was registered for on 6 May 2019.[37][38] He underlined the issue in Kazakhstan's society where young people are forced to leave villages and move into the cities, creating an unequal composition of the country's population between rural and urban areas.[39] Raqymbekov mostly campaigned for rural issues and proposed solution in improving agricultural economy by which would help Kazakhstan to compete worldwide with its important exports and noting it would create more jobs in the villages by attracting young specialists and prevent the migration into cities.[40]

The Federation of Trade Unions of Kazakhstan for the first time nominated Taspihov as candidate for the presidential elections on 24 April 2019 and became registered on 4 May 2019.[41][42] Taspihov sought to earn support from middle class by campaigning for safe working conditions, labor rights protections and decent living wages for people earning average. He also called for regulation in the job market by having any foreign worker's job whose visa stay has expired by replace by Kazakhstani citizen as well as improvements in education system to train new specialists to work without needing migrant workers. Taspihov took Auyl nominee Toleutai Raqymbekov's similar stance in creating more jobs in rural areas to prevent the outflow of the population.[43]

Ahmetbekov who previously participated in the 2011 presidential election was nominated again by the Communist People's Party in presidential race on 26 April 2019 .[44] The Central Election Commission officially registered him on 6 May 2019.[45] Ahmetbekov campaigned through populist approach by calling prosecution of oligarchs living abroad, mainly referring to exiled Kazakh banker Mukhtar Ablyazov which he accused of stealing government's budget that's used to fund social services.[46] He also called for higher taxes on the rich and an end to poverty. Ahmetbekov criticized westernization, claiming it brought harm to Kazakhstan's society such as pornography and gambling addiction.[47] In combating the situation, Ahmetbekov proposed for Kazakhstan's own version of Facebook in which certain deemed "harming content" would be regulated.[48]

Tügel became the first candidate on 22 April 2019 to nominate himself for the Uly Dala Qyrandary, a public organization that he has led since 2011.[49] He became registered on 3 May 2019.[50] Tügel based his campaign on conservatism where talked about the preservation of nation's values and traditions by rejecting western culture.[51] He proposed in implementing a ban on night clubs and marriage to foreigners. Tügel discussed the issues of Kazakhstan's demographics which he obliged for young people aged under 25 to start families.[52][53] In political issues, he called for an end in corruption, fixation in unemployment, direct elections of akims, death penalty for corrupt officials, nationalization of resources, as well as a referendum for new constitution.[54]

As part of the collection of signatures by candidates, violations were observed. In one of the higher educational institutions, it was proposed to sign the sheets on which the candidate's data were not indicated.[60] According to the legislation of Kazakhstan, it is prohibited to conduct polls that do not meet the requirements. Such violations include conducting them on social media, of which two citizens were fined for.[61]

A few days before the elections, all residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, according to the rules, should have received from the city and regional election commissions a personal paper invitation to the "Presidential Election-2019" with the name of the voter, address and number of the polling station. However, for unknown reasons, many residents of the largest city in the country Almaty did not receive their invitations to the elections for the first time in the entire history of elections.

During the Election Day, the Prosecutor General's Office identified 19 revealed violations, and initiated cases of an administrative offense. Of these, 12 violations were related to the issuance of ballots by a member of a precinct election commission to citizens for voting for other persons, 6 violations were related to the fact that some voters wanted to vote instead of another voter.[62][63] Independent observers and journalists recorded numerous election violations such as stuffing, use of disappearing ink, and voting for other people on video.[64]

On 8 May 2019, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) mission to observe the presidential elections in Kazakhstan was opened. The team of observers, according to the head of the mission, Urszula Gacek, included experts from Great Britain, Spain, Germany, Belarus, Poland, who would work not only before the elections, but also after. A total of 22 long-term observers were registered in the mission.[69]

According to the mission's interim report on 24 May, the election campaign is subtle and limited to campaign posters and billboards. Campaigning is strictly regulated and candidates can hold public meetings or events only with the permission of local authorities, an application for which must be submitted 10 days before the planned event.[70]

On 20 May 2019, the mission of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was opened. According to the CIS executive secretary, Viktor Guminsky, it was assumed that the mission from the CIS will include about 300 observers. They will represent all the countries of the commonwealth. To date, about 90 representatives of the Commonwealth countries have already applied for accreditation. These applications continue to come in. So far, applications have been officially received from four countries: Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, as well as from the IPA CIS. Long-term observers will work with about 20 people from the diplomatic corps accredited in Nur-Sultan, as well as the CIS executive committee.[71]

Kazakh police detaining a protester in Almaty, 9 June 2019

Protests broke out in the cities of Nur-Sultan and Almaty on 9 June 2019. The protest itself was organized by a banned opposition group the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan which is led by a former, now-exiled Kazakh banker Mukhtar Ablyazov.[72] The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that in Nur-Sultan, the protesters used throwing stones, objects that came to hand, and used pepper spray, which caused three police officers to be injured.[73] According to official reports, the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the police and the National Guard took measures to ensure public safety and law and order, the squares and streets were cleared of protesters by dispersal and detentions.[74] According to the statement of the First Deputy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Marat Kojaev, on 9 June, during the protests, about 500 people were detained among which were journalists.[75][76]

Demonstrators in Astana Square, 9 June 2019

On 10 June, at an unauthorized protest, Rinat Zaitov, a Kazakh musician and poet who was a supporter of Amirjan Qosanov, was detained in Almaty, where his speech was filmed by Channel 31, who also recorded his arrest on video. Soon after the legal interview, Zaitov was allowed to go home. However, late in the evening, in front of the building of the police department, citizens gathered in search of Zaitov and demanded his release. After they were informed that Zaitov was at home, they did not want to leave. At the request of law enforcement agencies, Zaitov was taken from home at night to the gathering place of citizens, where he urged people not to violate the law by complying with the legal requirements of law enforcement officers. Zaitov asked the crowd to go home and not succumb to the provocations. The remaining protesters then held a march on Töle Bi Street which was accompanied by drivers honking their horns, causing an overflow in traffic. In response to the situation, law enforcement including the riot police closed off the street and conducted arrests.[77] One officer was hit by car in front of the Sayran Bus Station who suffered a closed fracture of the right shin tibia with displacement. The driver was eventually caught and detained.[78] In the Alatau District of the city, a group of drunken people who were later charged with vandalism damaged a police car by throwing stones at it.[78] A Tengrinews journalist Shoqan Alhabaev was knocked to the ground and hit several times by the officers.[79] Other protesters, fleeing the pursuing police, hid in residential areas.[80] According to the adviser of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Nurdilda Oraz, about 200 people were detained, in which 150 of them were brought to justice.[81] President-elect Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called on the protesters to dialogue.[82]

By 18 June, there were reports of the detainees of about 4,000 people in all cities of Kazakhstan.[83] The operator of the online news Vlast.kz Yekaterina Suvorova, the journalist of Azattyq Pyotr Trotsenko and political scientist Dimash Aljanov, who worked at the NGO Center for Legal Policy Research, were arrested. British journalist Chris Rickleton, who worked for Agence France-Presse, said on Twitter that he was also detained. Rickleton and his colleague spent two hours at the local police department before Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vasilenko intervened. He called the journalists and apologized, after which they were released.[72]

According to the Kazakh government, the protests were caused by attempts to destabilize the social situation on the part of radical elements by organizing and conducting unauthorized actions.[84] The authorities considered the protest actions agitated by foreign "leaders of extremist organizations", referring mainly to the former Kazakh politician and opposition leader Mukhtar Ablyazov and his movement Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, which was declared as an extremist organization in March 2018.[85] Ablyazov was the first to call for boycott in the election and instead hold a protest.[72] In 2009, the Kazakh authorities charged Ablyazov with abuse and fraud and removed him from his post as head of BTA Bank, causing him to flee the country and was eventually convicted in absentee in the country.[86]

The protesters considered the elections to be unfair and undemocratic, and their results were predetermined. They also protested against the change in the name of the capital and the current government, which, in their opinion, is still in the hands of ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and that his successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is only his “political puppet”.[72] Ablyazov's supporters believed that the falsely accused him of fraud in order to arrest him due to political reasons and why his movement was declared as illegal in the country.[85]

Observers from the CIS noted that they did not see any violations of the procedure for holding elections, that the elections were held calmly, orderly and freely. CIS observers generally praised the elections.[87] International observers from the OSCE took the opposite side. In their opinion, the elections did not demonstrate a democratic authenticity with reported cases of ballot stuffing and that Kazakhstan still needs significant political, social and legal reforms to strengthen democracy, human rights and freedoms, they stated that they are always ready to cooperate with Kazakhstan for carrying out such actions.[88] The observers from the CIS stated that they did not observe any protest actions and detentions, while the OSCE, on the contrary, watched the protests and considered the actions of the Kazakh authorities to be clear violations of the foundations of freedom and democracy and disrespect for their own people. The OSCE observers stayed in Kazakhstan for another week due to concerns about the fate of the protesters.