BASIC INFORMATION

Full Country Name: The Republic of Kazakhstan


Country Profile:

Area: 2,699,800km
Population: 15.2m
Capital City: Astana
People:: 53.4% Kazakh, 30% Russian, 3.7% Ukrainian, 2.4% German, 2.5% Uzbek, 2.5% Tartar, 5.5% other
Languages: Kazakh and Russian
Religion(s): Muslim 57%, Russian Orthodox 31%, Protestant 2%, Other 7%
Currency: Kazakh Tenge
Major political parties:Nur OTAN ('Fatherland') Party, Social Democratic Party, Ak Zhol, True Ak Zhol,
Government:
Head of State:Nursultan Nazarbayev
Prime Minister/Premier: Karim Masimov
Foreign Minister: Marat Tazhin
Membership of international groupings/organisations: UN, the IMF/World Bank, EBRD, OSCE, Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty, the Eurasian Economic Community, Central Asian Co-operation Organisation, Shanghai Co-operation Organisation and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building.

GEOGRAPHY

is the second largest (after ) of the former Soviet Republics and the fourth most populous. It is geographically diverse, comprising extensive grassland, semi-desert and mountainous areas. It is bordered by , , , , and the Caspian Sea.

HISTORY

Recent History

The Kazakh Republic was formed as an autonomous Republic within the in August 1920 and became a Republic of the Soviet Union in December 1936. declared its independence on 16 December 1991 - the last Soviet Republic to do so.

POLITICS FOLLOWING INDEPENDENCE

President

President Nazarbaev was elected with 98% of the vote on 1 December 1991. In 1995, a referendum approved the extension of his term of office until 2000. In autumn 1998 he called Presidential elections for January 1999, nearly two years early. Despite OSCE concerns about the fairness of elections held at such short notice, the elections went ahead. Nazarbayev won with an alleged 79% of the vote.

The most recent Presidential elections were held on 4 December 2005. Nazarbayev won a second term in office under the 1995 Constitution with 91.16% of the vote. Again the OSCE/ODIHR Observation Mission found that, despite some pre-election administrative improvements, many of the recommendations had not been implemented and the elections did not fully meet OSCE standards.

President Nazarbaev sees his greatest achievement as building an independent country without violence or a split along ethnic or religious lines. He has also overseen some of the most extensive financial and economic reforms in the former Soviet Union. Another of his achievements is that he got rid of nuclear weapons on Kazak territory.

Parliament

The Parliament of Kazakhstan is bicameral and consists of a 77 member Lower House (Majilis) and 39 member Upper House (Senate). However, on 16 May 2007, President Nazarbayev presented a set of constitutional amendments to a joint session of the Senate and Majilis. These amendments,� based on recommendations drawn up by the State Commission of Democracy, �were approved and include increasing the size of the Majilis to 107 and the number of Senators to 47.

The amendments will change the election system from a constituency basis to a proportional representation one. 98 members of the Majilis will be elected by this system; the remaining 9 will represent the Assembly of Peoples to guarantee ethnic diversity among members of the Majilis. (The Assembly of Peoples was formed in 1995 and claims to represent all the different ethnic groups in Kazakhstan).

Fifteen Senators will be appointed by the President. The additional Senators will be chosen through consultation with the Assembly of Peoples, to again reflect the diverse mix of the country. �
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The amendments will increase Parliament’s powers including approval of the prime minister and control over the work of government. Parliament’s role in the appointment of bodies such as the Central Election Commission will also increase. �

Political Parties

There are currently 9 registered parties in . Political parties are generally based on the personal appeal of leading individuals rather than political orientation.

In 2002, the 1996 Law on Political Parties was amended to include an increase in the minimum number of registered members from 3,000 to 50,000. The effect was to considerably reduce the number of registered political parties. During the 1999 parliamentary elections, 19 political parties were registered. Only 12 parties were registered during the 2004 parliamentary elections.

In March 2005 several of the opposition groups united to form a pre-electoral bloc called For a Just Kazakhstan movement (FJK). The movement is lead by former Majilis Speaker Zharmakhan Tuyakbai. He resigned as speaker in November 2004 in protest at what he saw as the manipulation of the September 2004 parliamentary elections.

In the 2005 presidential elections the parties created electoral blocks. Seven parties (Agrarian Party, Asar, Aul, Civic Party, Democratic Party of Kazakhstan, Otan and Rukhaniyat) formed a common bloc, the National Coalition for , in support of Nazarbayev. For a Just Kazakhstan included the opposition groups, Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan and True Ak Zhol, and the Communist Party. Tuyakbai won 6.61% of the votes in the election.

In July 2006 Asar, the party of the President’s eldest daughter Dariga Nazarbaeva, joined with Otan. In December, two other pro-government parties, Agrarian and Civic, merged with Otan. Otan also changed its name in December to the People’s Democratic party Nur Otan.

In September 2006, Tuyakbai set up a new opposition party, the Social Democratic Party. The Social Democratic Party was registered on 26 January 2007. Two parties, the pro-presidential party, Atameken (Motherland) and� Alga, the opposition party comprising of members of the dissolved Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan party, are currently seeking registration with the Ministry of Justice.

Reform and Democratisation

Since the December 2005, elections there have been a small number of concrete steps towards political reforms and democratisation.� On 15 April 2006 a contentious article, implying undue prohibition on the right of freedom of assembly, was removed from the Election Law.

On 24 March 2006 a new State Commission on Democratisation was established, chaired by President Nazarbayev.� It was� tasked to work on: widening of the powers of legislative bodies, introduction of local self-governance, improving the judiciary and law enforcement bodies, development of civil society, and constitutional development.� But the opposition� mostly stayed away, claiming that the Commission was a rubber stamp of the President.

On 19 February 2007 the State Commission on Democratisation submitted its final report. Their proposals formed the basis of the constitutional amendments presented by President Nazarbayev on 16 May 2007 to Parliament. As well as increasing the size of Parliament, the amendments will give a stronger role to the local elected councils, the Maslikhats.

The term of office of the President will be reduced from 7 years to 5 with a bar on the President running more than twice in a row. However, on 18 May Parliament passed an amendment exempting the first president of the country (Nazarbayev).

The political opposition protest that they lack access to a free and independent media. Opposition newspapers regularly face obstacles such as libel suits, withdrawal of registration and cancellation of printing contracts. Recent amendments to the media law have further increased the control of the authorities over the media. However, a new media law has been drafted by several non-governmental organisations working together with the official Congress of Journalists. Whether this new draft will be accepted and whether it will respond to the opposition's protests and reduce the difficulties faced by the opposition media remains to be seen.

ECONOMY

Basic Economic Facts (for 2005)

GDP: US$ 76.4bn
GDP per head: US$5,100
Annual GDP Growth: 10.6%
Inflation: 8.6%
Major Industries: Ferrous metals. Oil. Gas. Agriculture
Major trading partners: European Union (34%), (21%), (13%), (8%), (4%)

is rich in natural mineral resources. Oil reserves in the Kazakhstani sector of the Caspian Sea alone are estimated at 8 billion tons. In 2006 produced �65 million tonnes of oil and gas condensate, and has set itself the target of 150 million tonnes by 2015, �which would make it a top 10 global player. In developing its oil, has focused on attracting foreign, including British, companies to develop and operate huge fields, principally Tengiz, Karachaganak and the offshore Kashagan field. Overall has the potential to contribute 10% of global supply growth to 2030.

In addition to oil and gas reserves, one quarter of the world's uranium deposits are thought to be in Kazakhstan, as well as large reserves of gold, silver, lead, zinc and copper. And as the ninth largest country in the world has vast areas of land, some of which is suitable for large scale arable farming. (It is a major producer of wheat).

Since 1999 strong oil and other raw material prices have helped to sustain a period of economic growth. is now one of the fastest growing economies in the world. GDP Growth in 2006 was �10.6 % (approx. $ 5,100 per capita). Oil and gas accounts for around 30% of GDP. Inflation in 2006 was �8.6%.

Foreign Policy

is the current chair of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) which includes most of the former republics of the Soviet Union. It maintains a particularly close relationship with . However, tries to maintain a foreign policy balance. It claims to want a stronger relationship with the EU, its main trading partner, and with the . The relationship with is ambivalent, is a key potential market for hydrocarbons, but fears being swamped by its populous eastern neighbour.

has signed up to global and regional security structures. joined the UN in March 1992 and renounced nuclear weapons in 1995. It is a member of a number of regional organisations including the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, the Conference for Security and Confidence-Building Measures, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation and the Eurasian Economic Community. Since 2004 has been contributing troops to the International Coalition against Terrorism work in . It is the only Central Asian country to have agreed an Individual Partnership Action Programme with NATO. It is an active participant in the US/Russian initiative on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

Kazakhstan's relations with the UK

offered the use of its airspace and bases for humanitarian aid supplies to .� The has greatly welcomed the support of Kazakh troops in the reconstruction of . We are helping to train Kazakh peace-keeping forces (Kazbat) to enable them to take part in future peace-keeping operations.