Show Notes
Kazakhstan went to the polls on 23rd August for their first parliamentary election since the constitutional change. The result was a landslide, new party Adilet won more than 71% of the vote on a reported turnout of 74%. On the surface, it looks like the Kazakhstan government enjoys strong voter engagement and a healthy endorsement of the status quo; however, it's more complicated than the numbers suggest.
OSCE Observers struck a more cautious tone, warning of "few genuine opportunities for independent candidacies, limited space for civil society and independent media, and a lack of a level playing field". To make sense of this election, Joshua Paisley is joined by Joanna Lillis, a Kazakhstan-based journalist and author who has lived and worked across Central Asia since 2001, with reporting featured in The Economist, The Guardian, The Independent, Foreign Policy and POLITICO.
To find out how to get involved as an electoral observer: https://democracyvolunteers.org/
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