Election Season: The Façade of Change
The coming of spring signified election season in Central Asia. On March 1, parliamentary elections were held in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan braced for presidential elections to be held on April 26 and March 29 respectively.
Although elections usually bring change, these ones did not. Nursultan Nazarbayev, the founder and president of Kazakhstan, was reelected for another 5 year term with 97.7% of votes in his favor. In Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov was reelected as head of state as well. He won over 90% of the preliminary vote.
Similarly for parliamentary elections, President Emomali Rahmon’s ruling party won. The Tajik president claims that 65.2% of votes from a 97.7% turnout voted in favor of his party. In Uzbekistan, four parties competed for spots, however, all the parties were pro-Karimov and nearly identical.
The fact stands that Central Asia’s political climate is authoritarian in nature. Elections simply serve the purpose to further consolidate the power of one ruling oligarch.
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