Kazak Prez Tokayev's decision to make poll schedule public is unprecedented step: State Counsellor

Lauding Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's latest address to the nation, Kazakhstan State Counsellor Erlan Karin said this Presidential speech opens a fundamentally new political milestone in the history of the country.

Writing for the Astana Times, Karin said the head of state is setting qualitatively different standards for the power system. "It is the utmost transparency in adopting the most important political decisions, constant renewal, and open competition."

On Thursday, Tokayev delivered a major address to the nation where he spoke about a number of political reforms for the socio-economic development of the country.

Tokayev announced a series of fundamental and comprehensive political reforms, in continuing the process of decentralising political power in the central Asian country. These measures included the recommendation for seven years limit to the Presidential term and the announcement of snap presidential elections this autumn.

State Counsellor Karin said the President's decision to make the entire electoral schedule public is an unprecedented step for Kazakhstan's political practice.

He said the launch of the entire election cycle is conditioned by the need for a radical reboot of the country's political system and is fully consistent with the rationale of the constitutional reform supported by the majority of citizens in the June referendum.

"The consecutive holding of presidential elections followed by the election of deputies of the Mazhilis (the lower chamber of the Parliament) and maslikhats (local representative bodies) will allow focusing on the solution of urgent and strategic tasks on socio-economic development of the country. In other words, the accumulated rhythm of the country's modernization will not be disturbed," Karin wrote in his Astana Times op-ed.

The Kazakhstan State Counsellor contended that the growing geostrategic tensions and turbulence in the world economy is a strong factor in favour of holding early elections. "The unpredictability of the dynamics of world processes multiplies the risks and challenges not only for individual states, but for entire regions."

Another central initiative of yesterday's address is the head of state's proposal to limit the presidential mandate to a single term of seven years without the right to re-election, he added.

Karin further said this proposal is a thoroughly considered decision, which, if approved by the Parliament, will determine the future of Kazakhstan's political system.

"In this case, the election of one person as President for only one seven-year term is a political innovation, which now has no precedent in the near and distant surrounding of Kazakhstan. The norm of a one-time presidency is primarily aimed at the long-term stabilization of the political system, eliminating the risks of power monopolization and strengthening the basic principles of democracy," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )

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