International Community Finds Fault in Kazakh Elections

The ruling Nur Otan party in Kazakhstan won 88 percent of the vote in August 18, 2007 parliamentary elections for the lower house (Majilis), and the two main opposition parties failed to reach the 7 percent threshold and will not receive any seats in the new parliament. The OSCE observation group released preliminary findings on the state of the elections. Overall the OSCE saw the election as an improvement over previous elections, citing a calm voting process. However, the OSCE noted serious faults with the transparency in the counting procedures and unequal access to state media outlets. Additionally, the OSCE noted that the elections which were called two years ahead of schedule occurred before all of the recent electoral reforms could be fully implemented. Under the new electoral code, 98 of the 107 seats in the Majilis are elected through a closed list, nationwide PR system. The other nine seats are appointed by the upper house (Assembly of People) which is an appointed body. Parties decide after the election on which candidates on their list receive seats in the Majilis. This actually does not change anything as the previous Majilis was also completely controlled by members loyal to President Nazarbayev.

Thailand Referendum Approves Constitution

Reports out of Thailand indicate that voters approved a new constitution through a referendum held on August 19, 2007. According to the Thai election commission, turn out reached 60 percent and between 68 – 70 percent approved the constitution which was designed by the military currently governing Thailand. NYTimes has a good rundown of the pre-vote environment and the basic shape of the new constitution. Not surprisingly, the new constitution provides immunity for those who executed the September 2006 coup. The military government has announced that it will hold elections in December.

Turkey Holds First Round of Presidential Vote

The Turkish parliament voted on August 20, 2007 in the first round of the presidential selection process. Abdullah Gul, the foreign minister and majority party’s presidential candidate, failed to receive enough votes in the first round to clinch the presidency. Gul received 341 votes, 26 shy of the total needed to win. A second round of voting has been scheduled for Friday, August 24, 2007 with a third session to follow on August 28, 2007. Gul is the candidate of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) which is historically rooted in an political Islam. However, the AKP has repeatedly expressed that it is socially conservative, pro-Western, and pro-Turkish accession into the EU. The two major opposition parties, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) announced that they would not support a Gul presidency. The Turkish military has refrained from commenting yet on the first round of voting, but it threatened to get involved during the last political standoff over Gul’s candidacy back in April 2007. Turkey’s military, which views itself as the guardian of secularism, has intervened multiple times in Turkish politics. As recently as 1997 when the military ousted a government in which Gul served as a minister.

Maldives Referendum Approves US-style Presidency

The current President of Maldives scored a major victory this week when a proposal he backed passed in a referendum. The referendum decided the new government structure of the Maldives which has been ruled for almost 30 years by the current President. The approved proposal would establish a strong presidential system similar to the form used in the United States. The opposition parties were favoring a British-style parliamentary system. The president is expected to call for a multi-party presidential election next year; however, major doubts remain whether the electoral process will meet international standards. The blog IntelliBriefs provides a rundown of the election environment.