1.
Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in northern Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Kazakhstan is the worlds largest landlocked country, and the ninth largest in the world, Kazakhstan is the dominant nation of Central Asia economically, generating 60% of the regions GDP, primarily through its oil/gas industry. It also has vast mineral resources, Kazakhstan is officially a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage. Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, the terrain of Kazakhstan includes flatlands, steppe, taiga, rock canyons, hills, deltas, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. Kazakhstan has an estimated 18 million people as of 2014, Given its large area, its population density is among the lowest. The capital is Astana, where it was moved in 1997 from Almaty, the territory of Kazakhstan has historically been inhabited by nomadic tribes. This changed in the 13th century, when Genghis Khan occupied the country as part of the Mongolian Empire, following internal struggles among the conquerors, power eventually reverted to the nomads. By the 16th century, the Kazakh emerged as a distinct group, the Russians began advancing into the Kazakh steppe in the 18th century, and by the mid-19th century, they nominally ruled all of Kazakhstan as part of the Russian Empire. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, and subsequent civil war, the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganised several times, in 1936, it was made the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan has worked to develop its economy, especially its dominant hydrocarbon industry. Kazakhstans 131 ethnicities include Kazakhs, Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Germans, Tatars, the Kazakh language is the state language, and Russian has equal official status for all levels of administrative and institutional purposes. The name Kazakh comes from the ancient Turkic word qaz, to wander, the name Cossack is of the same origin. The Persian suffix -stan means land or place of, so Kazakhstan can be translated as land of the wanderers. Kazakhstan has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age, the regions climate, archaeologists believe that humans first domesticated the horse in the regions vast steppes. Central Asia was originally inhabited by the Scythians, the Cuman entered the steppes of modern-day Kazakhstan around the early 11th century, where they later joined with the Kipchak and established the vast Cuman-Kipchak confederation. Under the Mongol Empire, the largest in history, administrative districts were established. These eventually came under the rule of the emergent Kazakh Khanate, throughout this period, traditional nomadic life and a livestock-based economy continued to dominate the steppe. Nevertheless, the region was the focus of ever-increasing disputes between the native Kazakh emirs and the neighbouring Persian-speaking peoples to the south, at its height the Khanate would rule parts of Central Asia and control Cumania
Kazakhstan
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Artistic depiction of medieval
Taraz situated along the Silk Road
Kazakhstan
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Flag
Kazakhstan
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Ablai Khan served as khan of the
Middle jüz from 1771 to 1781
Kazakhstan
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Inside a Kazakh
yurt
2.
Constitution of Kazakhstan
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The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the highest law of Kazakhstan, as stated in Article 4. The Constitution was approved by referendum on 30 August 1995, the preamble of the constitution emphasizes the importance of freedom, equality and concord and Kazakhstans role in the international community. Article 1 establishes the state as a democracy that values individual life, rights. It outlines social and political stability, economic development, patriotism and this is the first article in which the Parliament is mentioned. Article 2 states that Kazakhstan is a state and the government is presidential. The government has jurisdiction over, and is responsible for, all territory in Kazakhstan, regional, political divisions, including location of the capital, are left open to lower level legislation. Republic of Kazakhstan and Kazakhstan are considered one and the same, the governments power is derived from the people and citizens have the right to vote in referendums and free elections. Representation of the people is a right reserved to the executive and legislative branches, the government is divided between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Each branch is prevented from abusing its power by a system of checks and this is the first article to mention constitutional limits on the executive branch. The Constitution is made the highest law, the government shall publish all laws
Constitution of Kazakhstan
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10 Years of the Constitution of Kazakhstan
Constitution of Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan
3.
Human rights in Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstans human rights situation is uniformly described as poor by independent observers. Human Rights Watch says that Kazakhstan heavily restricts freedom of assembly, speech, in 2014, authorities closed newspapers, jailed or fined dozens of people after peaceful but unsanctioned protests, and fined or detained worshipers for practicing religion outside state controls. Government critics, including opposition leader Vladimir Kozlov, remained in detention after unfair trials, torture remains common in places of detention. Kazakhstans political structure concentrates power in the presidency, no election ever held in Kazakhstan has met international standards. In 2012 Kazakhstan was elected as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Kazakh authorities reportedly attempted to restrict freedom of speech and shut down independent media and civil society groups. In September, the Vremya printing house unexpectedly cancelled contracts with seven newspapers, likewise, other printing firms in Kazakhstans former capital, Almaty, also refused to print the publications. After a week-long hunger strike by the editors of these papers, virtually all of Kazakhstans broadcast media are owned by firms closely associated with the government, newspapers are some of the few sources of independent reporting. Some outsider observers, including HRW, have noted increasing anxiety in the Kazakh government after recent democratic revolutions in former Soviet states including Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. Efforts to restrict dissent ahead of the 2 December 2005 elections may have indicated the governments attempt to prevent such transformation from occurring in Kazakhstan, in 2016 Astana hosted a roundtable discussion on Human Rights Day, December 10. According to a US government report released in 2014, in Kazakhstan, the executive branch sharply limited judicial independence. Prosecutors enjoyed a role and had the authority to suspend court decisions. Corruption was evident at every stage of the judicial process, in 1992 after gaining independence Kazakhstan adopted the Law on Freedom of Religion and Religious Associations, which aimed to ensure inter-faith tolerance and religious freedom. As of 2014, there were over 3400 religious organizations in Kazakhstan, Human Rights watch however has said that Minority religious groups continued to be subjected to fines and short-term detention in 2014 for violating a restrictive religion law. A UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion recommended far-reaching reforms to the 2011 religion law, finding, for example, suffer from serious infringements of their freedom of religion. In order to promote dialogue and prevent religious conflict worldwide, Kazakhstan hosts regular Congress of the Leaders of World. The first congress was held in 2003 and was attended by 17 religious delegations, in order to address the threat of religious extremism, the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions held international conference, Religions against Terrorism, on May 31,2016. One day later the Congress held its 15th session in Astana, the Forum 18 News Service reported, Riot police who took part in the destruction threw personal belongings of the Hare Krishna devotees into the snow, and many devotees were left without clothes. Power for lighting and heating systems had been cut off before the demolition began, furniture and larger household belongings were loaded onto trucks
Human rights in Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan
4.
President of Kazakhstan
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The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the head of state, Commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Republic of Kazakhstan. The authorities of this position are described in section of Constitution of Kazakhstan. The position was established on 24 April 1990, a year before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the first, and as of 2017 current and only President of Kazakhstan is Nursultan Nazarbayev. The President of Kazakhstans decorations include a breast mark and Standard of The President of Kazakhstan, according to a post The President of Kazakhstan granted cavalierity of the order of the Gold Eagle. Article 46 says that the Presidents honor and dignity shall be inviolable, item 4 of the article outlines the special status and authority of the first president, and refers to a special constitutional act for definitions. According to this act, the first president possesses total, absolute, and till the death he sustains the government official. There is also pointed medical care, sanatorium, provision of pensions, on April 26,2015 Nursultan Nazarbayev was re-elected for his 5th presidency. The official ceremony of the inauguration took place at the Palace of Independence in Astana on April 29, prior to the 2011 election, President Nazarbayev wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post titled Kazakhstan’s steady progress toward democracy. Kazakhstans 5th presidential election was held on April 26,2015, Nursultan Nazarbayev was re-elected with 97. 7% of the vote. 858 observers from 19 countries were present at the stations during the election. OSCE spokesperson Cornelia Jonker criticised the lack of a choice for voters. The first column consecutively numbers the individuals who have served as president, list of leaders of Kazakhstan Official website of Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev Biography
President of Kazakhstan
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Incumbent
Nursultan Nazarbayev since 24 April 1990
President of Kazakhstan
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Presidential Standard
5.
Nursultan Nazarbayev
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Nursultan Äbishuly Nazarbayev is the President of Kazakhstan. He holds the title Leader of the Nation, in April 2015, Nazarbayev was re-elected with almost 98% of the vote. Nazarbayev has suppressed dissent, been accused of human rights abuses by several human rights organizations, no election held in Kazakhstan since independence has met international standards. In 2010 he announced reforms to encourage a multi-party system, in January 2017, President Nazarbayev proposed constitutional reforms that would delegate powers to the parliament. Nazarbayev was born in Chemolgan, a town near Almaty. His father was a labourer who worked for a wealthy local family until Soviet rule confiscated the familys farmland in the 1930s during Joseph Stalins collectivization policy. Following this, his father took the family to the mountains to live out a nomadic existence and his father avoided compulsory military service due to a withered arm he sustained when putting out a fire. At the end of World War II the family returned to the village of Chemolgan and he performed well at school, and was sent to a boarding school in Kaskelen. After leaving school he took up a one-year, government-funded scholarship at the Karaganda Steel Mill in Temirtau and he also spent time training at a steel plant in Dniprodzerzhynsk, and therefore was away from Temirtau when riots broke out there over working conditions. By 20, he was earning a good wage doing incredibly heavy. He joined the Communist Party in 1962, becoming a prominent member of the Young Communist League, and full-time worker for the party, and attended the Karagandy Polytechnic Institute. He was appointed secretary of the Communist Party Committee of the Karaganda Metallurgical Kombinat in 1972, in his role as a bureaucrat, Nazarbayev dealt with legal papers, logistical problems and industrial disputes, as well as meeting workers to solve individual issues. In 1984, Nazarbayev became the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, under Dinmukhamed Kunayev, at the 16th session of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in January 1986, Nazarbayev criticized Askar Kunayev, head of the Academy of Sciences, for not reforming his department. Dinmukhamed Kunayev, Nazarbayevs boss and Askars brother, felt deeply angered and betrayed, Kunayev went to Moscow and demanded Nazarbayevs dismissal while Nazarbayevs supporters campaigned for Kunayevs dismissal and Nazarbayevs promotion. Kunayev was ousted in 1986 and replaced by a Russian, Gennady Kolbin, Nazarbayev was named party leader on 22 June 1989-- only the second Kazakh to hold the post. He was Chairman of the Supreme Soviet from 22 February to 24 April 1990, on 24 April 1990, Nazarbayev was named the first President of Kazakhstan by the Supreme Soviet. He supported Russian President Boris Yeltsin against the coup in August 1991 by Soviet hardliners. Nazarbayev was close enough to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for Gorbachev to consider him for the post of Vice President of the Soviet Union, however, the Soviet Union disintegrated following the failed coup, though Nazarbayev was highly concerned with maintaining the close economic ties between Kazakhstan and Russia
Nursultan Nazarbayev
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Nursultan Nazarbayev Нурсултан Назарбаев
Nursultan Nazarbayev
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Nazarbayev (second from left) at the signing of the
Alma-Ata Protocol, December 1991
Nursultan Nazarbayev
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Nazarbayev with US President
George W. Bush at the White House in September 2006.
Nursultan Nazarbayev
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Meeting with the Russian president
Dmitry Medvedev in 2008 in
Astana
6.
Parliament of Kazakhstan
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The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the bicameral legislature of Kazakhstan, according to the 1995 Constitution of Kazakhstan. The lower house is the Majilis, with 107 seats, and are elected to four year terms, the upper house is the Senate, which has 47 members. As of January 2007, 10% of the representatives are women and 19% of local. Its predecessor was the Supreme Soviet, Kazakhstan held elections to the Senate on 1 October 2014. According to the Central Electoral Commission of Kazakhstan, it was an open, the OSCE commented that Preparations for the 26 April election were efficiently administered, however, necessary reforms for holding genuine democratic elections still have to materialize. The predominant position of the incumbent and the lack of genuine opposition limited voter choice, a restricted media environment stifled public debate and freedom of expression. About 250 observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization were present for the voting, four women were among the 80 candidates vying for the 16 open Senate seats. The results to be announced on 7 October 2014, List of Chairmen of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic Politics of Kazakhstan List of legislatures by country List of political parties in Kazakhstan Parliament website
Parliament of Kazakhstan
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Parliament of Kazakhstan Қазақстан парламенті Qazaqstan parlamenti
7.
Senate of Kazakhstan
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The Senate of Kazakhastan is the upper house of two chambers in Kazakhstans legislature, known as the Parliament. Members of the Senate are elected on the basis of indirect suffrage by secret ballot, half of elected members of the Senate are up for election every three years. Fifteen members are appointed by the President of Kazakhstan with the view to ensure representation for all the national, cultural components of society. The term of office for the members of the Senate is 6 years, the Chairman of the Senate is a person elected by the Senate among the members of the House by a secret voting majority from the total number of deputies of the House. The candidature on the post of the Chairman of the Senate is nominated by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, kassym-Jomart Tokayev is the current Chairman of the Senate. There are two Deputy Chairmen of the Senate A member of the Parliament must be a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan who has been a permanent resident on its territory over the last ten years. Powers of a member of the Parliament commence from the moment of registration as a member of the Parliament by the Central Election Commission of the Republic. Administration of the oath is done by the President at a ceremony in the presence of members of the Government, senators, along with all other MPs, must participate in the work of the Parliament and its bodies, they may only vote in person. Member of the Senate exercises the right of a vote on all issues considered at sessions of Parliament. Committees of the Senate hold visiting sessions across regions in order to examine public opinion on bills under consideration by the Parliament, up to now members of the Senate have made more than thousand inquiries on various issues of state and public life. Parliament’s involvement in international activity of Kazakhstan and engagement of MPs in identifying and implementing foreign policy of our country has significantly increased, Parliament website Kazakhstan, Senate Selection Holds Unusual Significance
Senate of Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan
8.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
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Kassym-Zhomart Kemeluly Tokayev is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who has served as Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan since 16 October 2013. He previously held the same post from 11 January 2007 to 15 April 2011, Tokayev served as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 1 October 1999 to 28 January 2002 and as Director General of the United Nations Office at Geneva from 12 March 2011 to 16 October 2013. His father, Kemel Tokayev, was a veteran of the Second World War and his mother, Turar Shabarbayeva, worked at the Alma-Ata Institute of Foreign Languages. In 1970, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev joined the Moscow State Institute of International relations, in his fifth year, he was sent to the training courses at the USSR Embassay in China for six months. In 1979, he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, in 1983, he went to the People’s Republic of China for training courses at the Beijing Language Institute. In 1984–1985, he served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and he was then posted to the Soviet Embassy in Beijing where he served until 1991 as Second Secretary, First Secretary, and Counsellor. In 1991, he enrolled at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR in Moscow in a course for senior diplomats. In 1992, Tokayev was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in 1993, he became First Deputy Foreign Minister and in 1994 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. In March 1999, he was promoted to the post of Deputy Prime Minister, in October 1999, with the endorsement of the Parliament, he was appointed Prime Minister by Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In January 2002, he resigned and was subsequently appointed Secretary of State – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tokayev continued to serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs until January 2007 when he was elected Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Tokayev held the post of Foreign Minister for ten years, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tokayev played an active role in the field of nuclear non-proliferation. In 1995 and 2005, he participated in the Review Conferences for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in New York, in 1996, he signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in New York, and in 2005 the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone in Central Asia in Semipalatinsk. He was elected Chairman of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Tokayev took part in ten sessions of the United Nations General Assembly. He holds the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. As Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, Tokayev was elected in 2008 Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and his view on the political system of Kazakhstan, Strong President, authoritative Parliament, accountable Government. We must ensure the implementation of this important provision by legislative, and most importantly, it is essential to carry out the President’s demand on the national jurisdiction over the land as well as its efficient and rational use”. Mr. Tokayev made these comments during the hearings in the Senate on 29 April 2016. He serves as Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament and he is also the Designated Official for safety and security of UN personnel for Switzerland
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
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Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
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Kassym-Jomart Tokayev with
Sergey Lavrov and
John Kerry on 13 September 2013
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
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Nygmet Nurmakov
9.
Mazhilis
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The Mazhilis is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Kazakhstan, known as the Parlamenti, in the Government of Kazakhstan. The upper house of Parliament is the Senate of Kazakhstan, members of Parliament are elected to five year terms. International observers reported procedural violations in the Majlis voting, the new parliament, which was seated in January 1996, included sixty-eight Kazak and thirty-one Russian deputies, even ten deputies were women
Mazhilis
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Kazakhstan
10.
Nurlan Nigmatulin
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Nurlan Nigmatulin is a Kazakh politician, who has been Chairman of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan since 2016. From 1984 to 1985 Nigmatulin worked as an engineer in the Director of Transportation Department in Production Association Karagandaoblgas,1990 –1993 - Committee of Youth Organizations of Kazakhstan, Chairman. 1993 –1995 - President of Kazakh-American Joint Venture Tengri,1995 –1999 - State Inspector, Deputy Head of Organizational-Control Department of the President Administration of Kazakhstan. 1999 –2002 - Deputy Governor of Astana city 2002 –2004 - Vice-Minister of Transport,2004, June –2006, January - Deputy Head of the President Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 2006, January –2009, November - Governor of Karaganda Region,2009, November -2012, September - First Deputy Chairman of Nur Otan Peoples Democratic Party. 20 January 2012 –3 April 2014 - Chairman of Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan,3 April 2014 -21 June 2016 - Head of the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Since 22 June 2016 - Chairman of Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 1999-2002 - Member of the Political Council of Otan Party. 2000-2002 - Chairman of the Astana city branch of the OtanParty, 2002-2003 - Member of the Board of Directors of CJSC National Information Technologies. 2002-2003 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Аstana International Airport,2003 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of KazakhTelecom. 2007 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Аir Astana Married, sons – Nurzhan, Nurkhan, Madi and two grandchildren. Twin-brother Yerlan Nigmatulin – Member of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Member of Committee on the Environment and Rural Development
Nurlan Nigmatulin
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Nurlan Nigmatulin Нұрлан Зайроллаұлы Нығматулин
11.
Elections in Kazakhstan
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Elections in Kazakhstan are held on a national level to elect a President and the Parliament, which is divided into two bodies, the Majilis and the Senate. Local elections for maslikhats are held five years. Elections are administered by the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan, there are more than 10 political parties in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan’s political opposition is the most developed in the region in terms of its abilities and resources. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has deployed election monitors to Kazakhstan for observation of parliamentary, in the recent Kazakh elections, many Kazakh voters were offered a choice of voting on electronic voting machines or on paper ballots. At least some of the boxes used in Kazakhstan are transparent in order to defend against ballot box stuffing. Each polling place was equipped with both a large box and smaller mobile ballot boxes. The latter are designed to be carried, by poll-workers, to voters outside the polling place and this is an alternative to offering absentee ballots or proxy voting for voters with disabilities that prevent them from going to the polls. Electronic voting in Kazakhstan is based on the AIS Sailau electronic voting system developed in Belarus and this system is best described as an indirect-recording electronic voting system, as opposed to the DRE voting machines that have been more widely studied. In this system, the touch-screen voting terminal in the voting booth serves as a ballot marking device, the voting terminal itself retains no record of the vote after the voter takes the smart card. Candidates for elected office in Kazakhstan can receive financial support to cover campaign costs. In Senate elections, each candidate receives about $2,170, there have been several international election observation missions organised in Kazakhstan. The OSCE has observed the elections, kazakhstans president is elected by the people and serves for at most two five-year terms. Term limits were removed for the incumbent Nursultan Nazarbayev on 18 May 2007, early presidential elections were called by President Nazarbayev and were held on April 26,2015. President Barack Obama sent a letter to President Nazarbayev congratulating him on his reelection in the April 26 election, the legislature, known as the Parliament, has two chambers. The Assembly has 107 seats, elected for a term,98 elected in general elections by proportional representation with 7% threshold and 9 elected by the Assembly of Kazakhstani Nation. The Senate has 47 members,40 of whom are elected to terms in double-seat constituencies by the local assemblies. In addition, ex-presidents are ex officio senators for life, as of March 2015, none of the elections held in Kazakhstan have been considered free or fair by Western countries or international observers
Elections in Kazakhstan
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Ballot boxes, Kazakh flag and state seal in an Astana polling place before the 2007 legislative elections.
Elections in Kazakhstan
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Voting booths, each with an AIS "Sailau" touch-screen electronic
voting machine.
12.
Kazakhstani presidential election, 2005
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Kazakhstan held a presidential election on 4 December 2005. Incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in power since 1989, sought, 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 Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe criticized the elections, calling them unfair, but noted improvements. Zamanbek Nurkadilov, described as the figure of the opposition, was unable to take part. A former mayor of Almaty and government minister, Nurkadilov had joined the opposition and 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 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, 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 Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
Kazakhstani presidential election, 2005
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Nominee
Kazakhstani presidential election, 2005
13.
Kazakhstani presidential election, 2011
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Early presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan on 3 April 2011, having been originally scheduled for 2012. The elections were called after a plan for holding a referendum to increase president term limits to 2020 was rejected by the Constitutional Council, Nazarbayev was re-elected for a third term with 95% of the votes and 90% turnout, against three nominal candidates. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has complained about a lack of transparency, Kazakhstan was reported at the 132nd place over 167 on The Economists Democracy Index for 2010, as an authoritarian regime. A referendum on extending presidential term limits was proposed to be held around March 2011, President Nursultan Nazarbayevs term was due to expire in 2012 and the referendum would have bypassed the next two scheduled elections. A Kazakh official stated that the move would help save our efforts, although Nazarbayev rejected the proposal, it would still have gone ahead if 80% of the members of the parliament voted for it, or if a public petition obtained at least 200,000 signatures. Media reports suggested that a petition for the referendum had already signed by 2,600,000 people. The Court therefore referred the matter to the President himself, as required by the Constitution of Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev agreed on putting aside the Constitutional referendum and immediately called for an early presidential election. Twenty-two potential candidates were counted before the process began, their number was finally reduced to four. The law requiring fluency in Kazakh was enacted in the 1990s, opponents charged that the test was administered in such a way as to disqualify Nazarbayevs opponents. Nazarbayev himself announced on 11 February 2011 that he would run for reelection and his candidacy was approved on 18 February 2011. Former member of parliament Ualikhan Qaisarov had taken the test on 8 February 2011, in total, eight candidates have either withdrawn their applications or failed the mandatory Kazakh language test. The environmentalist Mels Yeleusizov, even admitted to voting for Nazarbayev, the short timespan before election was cited by opposition leaders as impeding them to prepare and contest the poll. They therefore refused to part in the vote and called for a boycott. The option to vote against all, common in countries, was last legally available in the 1999 presidential election. Independent NGOs such as RFE/RL have reported increasing censorship by Kazakh authorities since February, on March 2, RFE/RL reported severe disruption of access to its websites, allegedly linked to orders received by government-controlled service providers KazTelecom and Nursat. International monitors cited numerous cases of ballot box-stuffing, voter intimidation, the OSCE received multiple reports of people being pressured to vote, and government officials were seen intimidating voters in universities, hospitals and military encampments. Other kinds of reported violations include seemingly identical signatures on voter lists, the OSCE concluded that the vote count lacked transparency and that correct procedures were often disregarded. The OSCE complained about a lack of transparency and competition in the vote
Kazakhstani presidential election, 2011
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Nominee
Kazakhstani presidential election, 2011
Kazakhstani presidential election, 2011
14.
Kazakhstani presidential election, 2015
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Early presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan on 26 April 2015, having been originally scheduled for 2016. The result was a victory for long-term incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Nur Otan, on 14 February 2015, the Peoples Assembly unanimously voted on the initiative to move presidential elections forward from 2016 to 2015. One motivation was that elections would help the development of the country. On 18 February, the Mazhilis unanimously asked President Nursultan Nazarbayev to move the elections, on 19 February, the Senate followed. In the first vote, there was one vote against the initiative, the senators were asked to vote again, and the second vote was unanimous. The first vote was explained as a technical error. On 25 February 2015 Nazarbayev signed a decree scheduling the elections for 26 April. He also confirmed that he would run
Kazakhstani presidential election, 2015
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Nominee
Kazakhstani presidential election, 2015
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Kazakhstan
Kazakhstani presidential election, 2015
15.
Kazakhstani legislative election, 2007
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Parliamentary elections were held in Kazakhstan on 18 August 2007. President Nursultan Nazarbayevs Nur Otan party received 88% of the vote, none of the six other parties contesting the election passed the 7% threshold to win seats. A total of 107 seats were at stake in the Majilis, under the changes,98 deputies were elected by party lists, an increase from just 10 in the previous parliament. The remaining nine seats were reserved for members elected by the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan, bias in the state media was also considered a problem. Elections of the Majilis 2007 Central Election Commission
Kazakhstani legislative election, 2007
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Kazakhstan
16.
Kazakhstani legislative election, 2012
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Parliamentary elections were held in Kazakhstan on 15 January 2012. The result was a victory for the Nur Otan party, which won 83 of the 98 seats in the Mazhilis, however, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe stated that the election did not meet fundamental principles of democratic elections. The elections marked the first time that the party would gain parliamentary seats irrespective of whether it cleared the 7% electoral threshold. Due to the 2011 Mangystau riots and the state of emergency there. However, this decision was overturned on 10 January 2012, the OSDP was the only party considered to be in opposition to long-time president Nursultan Nazarbayev. The opposition claimed there was widespread irregularities and fraud, the OSCE and US Department of State did not recognise the elections as democratic. Haraszti said the results of the election, including the presence of two parties apart from the party, can be described as an orchestrated election
Kazakhstani legislative election, 2012
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Kazakhstan
17.
Administrative divisions of Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in northern Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Kazakhstan is the worlds largest landlocked country, and the ninth largest in the world, Kazakhstan is the dominant nation of Central Asia economically, generating 60% of the regions GDP, primarily through its oil/gas industry. It also has vast mineral resources, Kazakhstan is officially a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage. Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, the terrain of Kazakhstan includes flatlands, steppe, taiga, rock canyons, hills, deltas, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. Kazakhstan has an estimated 18 million people as of 2014, Given its large area, its population density is among the lowest. The capital is Astana, where it was moved in 1997 from Almaty, the territory of Kazakhstan has historically been inhabited by nomadic tribes. This changed in the 13th century, when Genghis Khan occupied the country as part of the Mongolian Empire, following internal struggles among the conquerors, power eventually reverted to the nomads. By the 16th century, the Kazakh emerged as a distinct group, the Russians began advancing into the Kazakh steppe in the 18th century, and by the mid-19th century, they nominally ruled all of Kazakhstan as part of the Russian Empire. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, and subsequent civil war, the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganised several times, in 1936, it was made the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan has worked to develop its economy, especially its dominant hydrocarbon industry. Kazakhstans 131 ethnicities include Kazakhs, Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Germans, Tatars, the Kazakh language is the state language, and Russian has equal official status for all levels of administrative and institutional purposes. The name Kazakh comes from the ancient Turkic word qaz, to wander, the name Cossack is of the same origin. The Persian suffix -stan means land or place of, so Kazakhstan can be translated as land of the wanderers. Kazakhstan has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age, the regions climate, archaeologists believe that humans first domesticated the horse in the regions vast steppes. Central Asia was originally inhabited by the Scythians, the Cuman entered the steppes of modern-day Kazakhstan around the early 11th century, where they later joined with the Kipchak and established the vast Cuman-Kipchak confederation. Under the Mongol Empire, the largest in history, administrative districts were established. These eventually came under the rule of the emergent Kazakh Khanate, throughout this period, traditional nomadic life and a livestock-based economy continued to dominate the steppe. Nevertheless, the region was the focus of ever-increasing disputes between the native Kazakh emirs and the neighbouring Persian-speaking peoples to the south, at its height the Khanate would rule parts of Central Asia and control Cumania
Administrative divisions of Kazakhstan
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Artistic depiction of medieval
Taraz situated along the Silk Road
Administrative divisions of Kazakhstan
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Flag
Administrative divisions of Kazakhstan
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Ablai Khan served as khan of the
Middle jüz from 1771 to 1781
Administrative divisions of Kazakhstan
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Inside a Kazakh
yurt
18.
Regions of Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan is divided into 14 regions. The regions are subdivided into districts. Three cities, Baykonur, the largest city Almaty and the capital Astana are not part of the regions they are surrounded by, ^1 Almaty and Astana cities have the status of State importance and do not relate to any region. ^2 The West Kazakhstan and Atyrau regions are both located in Eastern Europe as the Ural River run through Atyrau and Oral, their respective capital cities. ^3 Baikonur city has a special status because it is currently being leased to Russia with Baikonur Cosmodrome until the year 2050, over the last 60 years, both the distribution and names of regions of Kazakhstan have changed considerably. Changes in region names were often in line with the renaming of cities, after the administrative reform in 1997, the last change happened since then took place in 1999, when parts of North Kazakhstan that originally belonged to Kokshetau region became part of Akmola. The 1990s merges were in order to dilute Russian population in the resulting region and to avoid having regions where Russians form majority
Regions of Kazakhstan
19.
Foreign relations of Kazakhstan
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Foreign relations of Kazakhstan are primarily based on economic and political security. S. in the War on Terror. Kazakhstan established a union with Russia and Belarus, transformed into the Eurasian Economic Community then in 2015 into the Eurasian Economic Union. President Nazarbayev has prioritized economic diplomacy into Kazakhstans foreign policy, Kazakhstan has a multi-vector foreign policy, i. e. a triangulation between the major powers of Russia, China and the US. Kazakhstan has called for integration in Central Asia” and international integration of the region. In December 2010 Kazakhstan held the first OSCE summit since 1999, in 2015 Kazakhstan joined the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. In September the Kazakh Senate ratified the Convention, which unites 26 countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, not until 2005 did Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan agree to begin demarcating their shared borders. No seabed boundary with Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea has been agreed on, according to Sagintaev Bakytzshan Abdirovich, first deputy prime minister, in 2015 Kazakhstan and China will sign an intergovernmental agreement on water allocation of the 24 transboundary rivers. When the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991, Kazakhstan inherited 1,410 nuclear warheads, by April 1995, Kazakhstan had returned the warheads to Russia and, by July 2000, had destroyed the nuclear testing infrastructure at Semipalatinsk. The contribution of Kazakhstans President Nazarbayev to nuclear non-proliferation was highly recognized by Japan, during his visit to Japan in November 2016, Nursultan Nazarbayev was awarded the title of special honorary citizen of Hiroshima for his non-proliferation efforts. In 1998, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that a minimum of 1,517 tons of cannabis was harvested in Kazakhstan, with the fall of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan became a major transit country for narcotics produced in Southwest Asia, primarily from Afghanistan. In 2001, Kazakh authorities reported 1,320 cases of trafficking and seized 18 metric tons of narcotics.2. Russia and other parts of Europe are the markets for these drugs although drug use is growing in Kazakhstan as well. The KazAID program implies technical assistance and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, as of 2016, Kazakhstan provided Afghanistan with 20,000 tons of food products valued at some $20 million. Diplomatic relations were established on August 27,1992, azerbaijan has an embassy in Astana. Kazakhstan has had an embassy in Baku since December 16,1994, bilateral relationships between the countries are very strong and Kyrgyz and Kazakh are very close in terms of language, culture and religion. On April 26,2007 the presidents of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement to create an International Supreme Council between the two states and this historic event took place during an official visit of the Kazakh president to the Kyrgyzstan capital, Bishkek. Kazakhstan has an embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan has an embassy in Astana. Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan relations have always been sincere and strong, since the rapid development of Kazakhstan the president of Uzbekistan Mr. Karimov has visited Kazakhstan several times
Foreign relations of Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan
20.
Presidential system
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A presidential system is a system of government where a head of government is also head of state and leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch. The United States, for instance, has a presidential system, the executive is elected and often titled president and is not responsible to the legislature, which cannot in normal circumstances dismiss it. Presidential systems are numerous, but the following are true, The executive can veto legislative acts and, in turn. The veto is generally derived from the British tradition of royal assent in which an act of parliament can only be enacted with the assent of the monarch, the president has a fixed term of office. Members of the cabinet serve at the pleasure of the president, cabinet ministers or executive departmental chiefs are not members of the legislature. However, presidential systems often need legislative approval of executive nominations to the cabinet, judiciary, a president generally can direct members of the cabinet, military, or any officer or employee of the executive branch, but cannot direct or dismiss judges. The president can often pardon or commute sentences of convicted criminals, countries that feature a presidential system of government are not the exclusive users of the title of president. For example, a dictator, who may or may not have been popularly or legitimately elected may be, likewise, leaders of one-party states are often called presidents. Most parliamentary republics have presidents, but this position is ceremonial, notable examples include Germany, India, Ireland, Israel. The title is used in parliamentary republics with an executive presidency. In a full-fledged presidential system, a president is chosen directly by the people or indirectly by the party to be the head of the executive branch. Presidential governments make no distinction between the positions of head of state and head of government, both of which are held by the president, a few countries have powerful presidents who are elected by the legislature. These executives are titled president, whereas in practice they are similar to prime ministers, other countries with the same system include Botswana, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Suriname. By contrast, national presidents are figurehead heads of state, like constitutional monarchs, such symbolic presidents can be directly elected by the people or indirectly by a legislative vote. Only a few nations, such as Ireland, have a popularly elected ceremonial president, subnational governments, usually states, may be structured as presidential systems. All of the governments in the United States use the presidential system. On a local level, many cities use Council-manager government, which is equivalent to a parliamentary system, some countries without a presidential system at the national level use a form of this system at a subnational or local level. Supporters generally claim four basic advantages for presidential systems, Direct elections — in a presidential system and this makes the presidents power more legitimate than that of a leader appointed indirectly
Presidential system
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Presidential republics with a full presidential system.
21.
Republic
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It is a government where the head of state is not a monarch. Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their ideology, composition, in the classical and medieval period of Europe, many states were fashioned on the Roman Republic, which referred to the governance of the city of Rome, between it having kings and emperors. The Italian medieval and Renaissance political tradition, today referred to as humanism, is sometimes considered to derive directly from Roman republicans such as Sallust. Republics were not equated with classical democracies such as Athens, but had a democratic aspect, Republics became more common in the Western world starting in the late 18th century, eventually displacing absolute monarchy as the most common form of government in Europe. In modern republics, the executive is legitimized both by a constitution and by popular suffrage, for instance, Article IV of the United States Constitution guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government. The term originates as the Latin translation of Greek word politeia, cicero, among other Latin writers, translated politeia as res publica and it was in turn translated by Renaissance scholars as republic. The term politeia can be translated as form of government, polity, or regime, and is therefore not always a word for a specific type of regime as the modern word republic is. And also amongst classical Latin, the term republic can be used in a way to refer to any regime. In medieval Northern Italy, a number of city states had commune or signoria based governments, in the late Middle Ages, writers, such as Giovanni Villani, began writing about the nature of these states and the differences from other types of regime. They used terms such as libertas populi, a free people, the terminology changed in the 15th century as the renewed interest in the writings of Ancient Rome caused writers to prefer using classical terminology. To describe non-monarchical states writers, most importantly Leonardo Bruni, adopted the Latin phrase res publica. While Bruni and Machiavelli used the term to describe the states of Northern Italy, which were not monarchies, the term can quite literally be translated as public matter. It was most often used by Roman writers to refer to the state and government, in subsequent centuries, the English word commonwealth came to be used as a translation of res publica, and its use in English was comparable to how the Romans used the term res publica. Notably, during The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell the word commonwealth was the most common term to call the new monarchless state, likewise, in Polish, the term was translated as rzeczpospolita, although the translation is now only used with respect to Poland. Presently, the term republic commonly means a system of government which derives its power from the rather than from another basis. After the classical period, during the Middle Ages, many cities developed again. The modern type of itself is different from any type of state found in the classical world. Nevertheless, there are a number of states of the era that are today still called republics
Republic
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Vaishali was the
capital of the
Vajjian Confederacy, an early republic.
Republic
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A map of the
Roman Republic
Republic
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Giovanni Battista Tiepolo,
Neptune offers the wealth of the sea to Venice, 1748–50. This painting is an allegory of the power of the Republic of
Venice.
Republic
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Beginning of the Republic of
Metz. Election of the first Head-Alderman in 1289, by Auguste Migette.
Metz was then a
free imperial city of the
Holy Roman Emperor.
22.
Head of state
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A head of state is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state. In some countries, the head of state is a figurehead with limited or no executive power, while in others. Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of France, some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of models. An independent nation state normally has a head of state, the non-executive model, in which the head of state has either none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a ceremonial and symbolic role. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the chief executive officer, heading the executive branch of the state. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature and it also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies, the legitimacy of the head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system, usually, the king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino—the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, so, Italy had a de facto parliamentarian system, but a de jure presidential system. These officials are excluded completely from the executive, they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, hence their states governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majestys Government or His/Her Excellencys Government. Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist, the constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet, who is chaired by the prime minister and responsible to the Diet. The emperor is defined in the constitution as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and he is a ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Today, the Speaker of the Riksdag appoints the prime minister, Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. In contrast, the contact the President of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach to the president. However, he or she has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach. The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers, such as referring a bill to the court to test its constitutionality. The most extreme non-executive republican Head of State is the President of Israel, semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably a requirement that the government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a minister who is chosen by the president
Head of state
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Sixteen heads of state meeting at a
UNASUR -
BRICS summit in July 2014.
Head of state
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President
Pranab Mukherjee, head of state of
the Republic of India from July 2012
Head of state
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Two contemporary heads of state who are
constitutional monarchs, but with no political power: Emperor
Akihito of Japan (left), and King
Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden (right.)
Head of state
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Charles de Gaulle, President and head of state of the
French Fifth Republic June 1958 – January 1959
23.
Head of government
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The term head of government is often differentiated from the term head of state, as they may be separate positions, individuals, and/or roles depending on the country. In parliamentary systems, including constitutional monarchies, the head of government is the de facto leader of the government. For example, in the United Kingdom, the prime minister advises the Queen on the appointment of the cabinet, advice she is required to accept. On the other hand, the Queens long service as the head of state enables her to provide the prime minister with information and insight into many matters to better run the government. However, because the United Kingdom is a monarchy, the Prime Minister uses his or her own discretion regarding whether or not to follow the Queens advice. The Queen also is entitled to appoint a new Prime Minister, in presidential republics or in absolute monarchies, the head of state is also usually the head of government. The relationship between that leader and the government, however, can vary greatly, ranging from separation of powers to autocracy, in semi-presidential systems, the head of government may answer to both the head of state and the legislature, with the specifics provided by each countrys constitution. A modern example is the present French government, which originated as the French Fifth Republic in 1958, in France, the president, the head of state, appoints the prime minister, who is the head of government. In some cases, the head of state may represent one political party, in this case, known as cohabitation, the prime minister, along with the cabinet, controls domestic policy, with the presidents influence is largely restricted to foreign affairs. In directorial systems, the executive responsibilities of the head of government are spread among a group of people, a prominent example is the Swiss Federal Council, where each member of the council heads a department and also votes on proposals relating to all departments. A common title for many heads of government is prime minister, various constitutions use different titles, and even the same title can have various multiple meanings, depending on the constitutional order and political system of the state in question. In addition to prime minister, titles used for the democratic model, some of these titles relate to governments below the national level. Have been used by various Empires, Kingdoms and Princely States of India as a title for the Prime Minister, maltese, In Malta, the head of government is Prim Ministru. In this case, the prime minister serves at the pleasure of the monarch, some such titles are diwan, mahamantri, pradhan, wasir or vizier. However, just because the head of state is the de jure dominant position does not mean that he/she will not always be the de facto political leader, in some cases, the head of state is a figurehead whilst the head of the government leads the ruling party. In some cases a head of government may even pass on the title in hereditary fashion, the ability to vote down legislative proposals of the government. Control over or ability to vote down fiscal measures and the budget, all of these requirements directly impact the Head of governments role. Many parliamentary systems require ministers to serve in parliament, while others ban ministers from sitting in parliament, heads of government are typically removed from power in a parliamentary system by Resignation, following, Defeat in a general election
Head of government
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The heads of government of five members of the
Commonwealth of Nations at the 1944
Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. From left to right,
Mackenzie King (
Canada),
Jan Smuts (
South Africa),
Winston Churchill (
United Kingdom),
Peter Fraser (
New Zealand), and
John Curtin (
Australia).
24.
Legislative power
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A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. Legislatures form important parts of most governments, in the separation of model, they are often contrasted with the executive. Laws enacted by legislatures are known as legislation, legislatures observe and steer governing actions and usually have exclusive authority to amend the budget or budgets involved in the process. The members of a legislature are called legislators, each chamber of legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a number of legislators present to carry out these activities. Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are delegated to committees made up of small selections of the legislators. The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties, the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs, the internal organization of a legislature is also shaped by the informal norms that are shared by its members. Legislatures vary widely in the amount of power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries, militaries. In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary Powers Index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures, such a system renders the legislature more powerful. Legislatures will sometime delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies, legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators, who vote on proposed laws. For example, a legislature that has 100 seats has 100 members, by extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a seat, as, for, example, in the phrases safe seat and marginal seat. In parliamentary systems of government, the executive is responsible to the legislature which may remove it with a vote of no confidence, names for national legislatures include parliament, congress, diet and assembly. A legislature which operates as a unit is unicameral, one divided into two chambers is bicameral, and one divided into three chambers is tricameral. In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is considered the upper house. In federations, the upper house typically represents the component states. This is a case with the legislature of the European Union. Tricameral legislatures are rare, the Massachusetts Governors Council still exists, tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. Legislatures vary widely in their size, among national legislatures, Chinas National Peoples Congress is the largest with 2987 members, while Vatican Citys Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7
Legislative power
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The
Congress of the Republic of Peru, the country's national legislature, meets in the
Legislative Palace in 2010.
25.
Forms of government
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A government is the system by which a state or community is controlled. In the Commonwealth of Nations, the government is also used more narrowly to refer to the collective group of people that exercises executive authority in a state. This usage is analogous to what is called an administration in American English, finally, government is also sometimes used in English as a synonym for governance. In the case of its broad definition, government normally consists of legislators, administrators. Government is the means by which state policy is enforced, as well as the mechanism for determining the policy of the state. A form of government, or form of governance, refers to the set of political systems. Government of any kind currently affects every human activity in many important ways, in political science, it has long been a goal to create a typology or taxonomy of polities. as typologies of political systems are not obvious. It is especially important in the science fields of comparative politics. On the surface, identifying a form of government appears to be simple, the United States is a constitutional republic, while the former Soviet Union was a socialist republic. However self-identification is not objective, and as Kopstein and Lichbach argue, for example, elections are a defining characteristic of an electoral democracy, but in practice elections in the former Soviet Union were not free and fair and took place in a one-party state. Voltaire argued that the Holy Roman Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman, many governments that officially call themselves a democratic republic are not democratic, nor a republic, they are usually a dictatorship de facto. Communist dictatorships have been prone to use this term. For example, the name of North Vietnam was The Democratic Republic of Vietnam. China uses a variant, The Peoples Republic of China, thus in many practical classifications it would not be considered democratic. Experience with those movements in power, and the ties they may have to particular forms of government. For example, The meaning of conservatism in the United States has little in common with the way the words definition is used elsewhere, as Ribuffo notes, what Americans now call conservatism much of the world calls liberalism or neoliberalism. Since the 1950s conservatism in the United States has been associated with the Republican Party. However, during the era of segregation many Southern Democrats were conservatives, values are sorted from 1–100 based on level of democracy and political accountability
Forms of government
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presidential republics
26.
Government of Kazakhstan
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The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan oversees a presidential republic. The President of Kazakhstan, currently Nursultan Nazarbayev, is head of state, executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, in July 2015 Kazakhstan was ranked 50th in the Government Efficiency Index compiled by World Economic Forum. The efficiency index considers expenditures, workload regulations and political transparency, Kazakhstan beats of a number of European countries in government efficiency, according to the list. In particular, Kazakhstan is ahead of Belgium and France, according to the 2016 World Development report prepared by the World Bank Group, Kazakhstan ranks 28th among 193 countries in the e-Gov development rating. The “Information Kazakhstan – 2020” state program approved in 2013 helped the transition to the information society. The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term, the prime minister and first deputy prime are appointed by the president. Council of Ministers is also appointed by the president, the president is the head of state. He also is the commander in chief of the armed forces, President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who has been in office since Kazakhstan became independent. The prime minister, who serves at the pleasure of the president, chairs the Council of Ministers, there are three deputy prime ministers and 17 ministers in the Council. Daniyal K. Akhmetov became the Prime Minister in June 2003 and he was succeeded by Karim Massimov who assumed office in January 2007. In the 2005 Presidential elections Nursultan Nazarbayev was re-elected for a seven-year term,5 candidates participated in the elections. The participation in the made up 77%. A presidential election was held on April 26,2015, Kazakhstans National Security Committee was established on 13 June 1992. It includes the Service of Internal Security, Military Counterintelligence, Border Guard, several Commandos units, the latter is considered by many as the most important part of NSC. Its director is Major General Adil Shayahmetov, the legislature, known as the Parliament, has two chambers. The Assembly has 77 seats, elected for a term,67 in single seat constituencies and 10 by proportional representation. The Senate has 47 members,40 of whom are elected for terms in double-seat constituencies by the local assemblies
Government of Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan
