Kazakhstani presidential election, 2005

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Kazakhstan
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Kazakhstan

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Kazakhstan held a presidential election on 4 December 2005. Incumbent President Nursultan Nazarbayev, in power since 1989, sought and won another seven-year term against four other candidates. Opposition candidates were allowed some access to the mass media, but this was still restricted. According to western election observers, opposition candidates also suffered considerable harassment. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) criticized the elections, calling them unfair, but noted improvements.

[edit] Candidates and provisional final results

e•d Summary of the 4 December 2005 Kazakhstan presidential **election results**
Candidates and nominating parties	Votes	%
Nursultan Nazarbayev - Fatherland (Otan)	6,147,517	91.15
Zharmakhan Tuyakbay - Coalition for a Just Kazakhstan (Ediletti Kazakhstan Yuzhin)	445,934	6.61
Alikhan Baimenov - Democratic Party of Kazakhstan Bright Path (Qazaqstan Demokratiyalyk Partiyasi Ak Zhol)	108,730	1.61
Yerassyl Abylkassymov - People's Communist Party of Kazakhstan (Qazaqstan Kommunistik Khalkik Partiyasi)	23,252	0.34
Mels Yeleusizov - Tabigat (Nature) environmental movement	18,834	0.28
Total (turnout 76.8%)	6,744,267
Source: Embassy of Kazakhstan in the United Kingdom

Onalsyn Zhumabekov, Chairman of Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission, declared the election valid. About 1,600 observers monitored the election, including 465 from the influential Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Bruce George, coordinator for observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, was highly critical of the election: "Regrettably, despite some efforts which were undertaken to improve the process, the authorities did not exhibit sufficient political will to hold a genuinely good election."

The OSCE has gone on record noting the following issues with the election "Unauthorised persons interfering in polling stations, cases of multiple voting, ballot box stuffing and pressure on students to vote were observed during voting and during the count, observers saw tampering with result protocols and a wide range of procedural violations."