Kazakhstan flag Kazakhstan: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Kazakhstan

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President:  Alikhan Smailov (since January 2022)
Prime Minister: Olzhas Bektenov (since 6 February 2024)
Next Election Dates
Presidential: 2029
Senate (Upper House): 2026
Mazhilis (Lower House): 2026
Main Political Parties
The main political parties of the country are:

- Amanat: previously known as "Nur Otan", centre, largest political party
- Auyl People's Democratic Patriotic Party (HDDP): social democracy, agrarianism
- Respublica Party: centre to centre-right
- Democratic Party of Kazakhstan (Aq Jol/Bright Path): centre, pro-reform, pro-business
- People's Party of Kazakhstan (QHP): left-wing, social democratic, originally funded as the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan (QKHP)
- Nationwide Social Democratic Party (JSDP): social democracy.
Executive Power
The President is the head of the State and also the Commander-in-chief of the army. He can propose constitutional amendments, appoint and revoke the government, dissolve the parliament and call for a referendum when he wants. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. He and the Council of Ministers are appointed by the President.
Legislative Power
The Parliament consists of two houses. The Mazhilis, the lower house, consists 98 members of which 69 are directly elected in a single national constituency by party list proportional representation, and 29 are directly elected in single-seat constituencies to serve 5-year terms. The Senate, the upper house, is formed of 50 members, 40 of which are elected. The remaining 10 members are appointed by the President.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
155/180
Evolution:
157/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Not Free
Political Freedom:
7/7
Civil Liberties:
18/60

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: November 2024