Jordan praises steps to further strengthen democratic foundations and political pluralism in Kazakhstan

On January 7, 2021, on the eve of the next parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Amman Aidarbek Toumatov held a briefing for representatives of the leading media resources of Jordan, including the “Petra” news agency, “ad-Dustour” and “Alrai” newspapers, as well as experts in the study of political processes in the Central Asian region.

During the event, the Head of the diplomatic mission spoke in detail about the current electoral system of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the structure and activities of the Parliament, the latest reforms aimed at strengthening democratic institutions and procedures in the country. In particular, representatives of the media community were informed about the reforms adopted at the initiative of President K. Tokayev to halve the threshold for registration of political parties, change the procedure for holding peaceful gatherings, introduce the institution of parliamentary opposition and a 30 percent quota in party lists for women and youth. In addition, in 2020, as part of the further democratization of the political process, for the first time in the history of the country's party-political development, the “primaries” of the largest political party “Nur Otan” took place.

It was noted that in preparation for the upcoming elections to the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, party lists of five political parties were registered, a total of 312 candidates. About 400 observers from foreign states and international organizations received accreditation.

In turn, the invited experts praised the recent steps taken in Kazakhstan to further strengthen the democratic foundations and political pluralism, as evidenced by the participation of parties of various orientations in the election race.

At the end of the meeting, an exchange of views took place on the current state and prospects for the development of bilateral cooperation in various fields, including the trade, economic and investment spheres, as well as joint events on the occasion of the celebration of the 30^th anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the 100^th anniversary of the establishment of the Jordanian state this year.