Is Kazakhstan experiencing the early stages of a democratic awakening? UkraineAlert by Rustam Kypshakbayev
Opposition supporters in Almaty protest against political repression. February 28, 2021. (REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev)
In February 2021, Kazakhstan’s Young Voters League, a civil society initiative led by Kazakhstan’s Youth Information Service NGO, published independent research
data indicating that the ruling party had received 48.3% of votes in the country’s January elections. This figure was based on 177 voting protocols and contrasted sharply with
official results indicating a far more convincing 71.9% vote share.
It is extremely rare in Kazakhstan for even unofficial results to suggest an outcome of below 50%. In most previous elections, the ruling party has typically been credited with staggeringly high official victory margins and only slightly less impressive independent estimates.