New Mayoral Elections successfully conclude across Kazakhstan The Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Kazakhstan Kuandyk Turgankulov has announced that the election of 2,454 local mayors or akims under a new system has successfully taken place across cities, villages, towns as well as in rural areas all over Kazakhstan this week. Under the new system akims have been elected at the local level by local representative bodies or maslikhats. Previously, akims were appointed by central government and the election of akims is seen as an important step towards greater state democratization and the development of the role of local government in Kazakhstan. The new system of akim elections was first presented in the ‘Kazakhstan 2050’ strategy announced by President Nazarbayev, in December 2012. The akim elections were keenly contested. In total there were 6,738 registered candidates for the post of akim meaning that on average there were more than two candidates for each position. Chairman Turgankulov said: “The seriously contested nature of the elections could be seen in the way that in 37 administrative regions the winning candidates were elected with a margin of just one vote.” Chairman Turgankulov noted that 280 of the elected akims were women - constituting 11.4% of those elected. He also mentioned the average age of newly-elected akims has fallen and is now 47. The youngest elected akim from Pavlodar region is just 25 years old. The new system of akim elections aims to provide locally-elected akims and local communities with increased control over their local budgets. Rural akims, in particular, will be given additional powers strengthening their influence in auls (villages) enabling them to engage more directly in developing their communities - by constructing roads and improving housing and communal services. The Central Election Committee (CEC) has played a pivotal role in the reform of the election of akims by examining similar systems of election governance in other countries and providing analysis and recommendation. The elections of the akims took place in all 14 regions of the country meaning that over 90% of all local governors have been elected through the new system. The local district or town election commission is responsible for the publication of the election results.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 11:22:00 +0000
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