Wednesday, 09 March 2005

KAZAKH OPPOSITION GROUPS FORM ELECTION ALLIANCE

Published in News Digest

By empty (3/9/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Kazakhstan\'s troubled opposition groups said Wednesday they would form an alliance for upcoming elections in a bid to unseat President Nursultan Nazarbayev. \"We are uniting to put an end to the uncontrolled and irresponsible rule of the current regime,\" said Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, one of the leaders of the new alliance, For Fair Kazakhstan. Tuyakbai said by the end of March the alliance would announce a single opposition candidate to run against Nazarbayev in the December elections.
Kazakhstan\'s troubled opposition groups said Wednesday they would form an alliance for upcoming elections in a bid to unseat President Nursultan Nazarbayev. \"We are uniting to put an end to the uncontrolled and irresponsible rule of the current regime,\" said Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, one of the leaders of the new alliance, For Fair Kazakhstan. Tuyakbai said by the end of March the alliance would announce a single opposition candidate to run against Nazarbayev in the December elections. The move comes after authorities in January banned the Democratic Choice party for alleged extremism. Democratic Choice and Ak Zhol are Kazakhstan\'s main opposition groups. The developments raised doubts about the opposition\'s ability to unite ahead of the presidential race. Nazarbayev, a former Communist boss, has been in power since in 1989 and holds extensive powers. He has said he will seek another seven-year term. The opposition blames Nazarbayev for allowing widespread corruption, lack of political reforms and unfair distribution of the country\'s huge revenues from energy exports. But Nazarbayev is also widely credited for the country\'s considerable economic progress after the Soviet collapse. (AP)
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The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is a biweekly publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council, Washington DC., and the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm. For 15 years, the Analyst has brought cutting edge analysis of the region geared toward a practitioner audience.

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