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KAZAKHSTAN
Mazhilis (House of Representatives)

This page contains the full text of the PARLINE database entry on the selected parliamentary chamber, with the exception of Oversight and Specialized bodies modules which, because of their excessive length, can be only viewed and printed separately.

Modules:
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PARLIAMENTARY CHAMBER

Parliament name (generic / translated) Parlament / Parliament
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Structure of parliament Bicameral
Chamber name (generic / translated) Mazhilis / House of Representatives
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Senate
Affiliation to the IPU Yes
Affiliation date(s) 1993 -
LEADERSHIP
President Nurlan Nigmatulin (M) 
Notes Elected on 22 June 2016.
Secretary General Serik Aidarbekov (M) 
Notes Appointed in January 2017.
COMPOSITION
Members (statutory / current number) 107 / 107
PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN


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Women (current number) 29 (27.10%)
Mode of designation directly elected 98
indirectly elected 9
Notes Nine members are indirectly elected with the consent of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan.
Term 5 years
Last renewal dates 20 March 2016
(View details)
CONTACT INFORMATION
Address Mazhilis
Parliament House
Astana 010000
Republic of Kazakhstan
(Export mailing lists)
Phone (77172) 74 62 90
74 63 85
Fax (77172) 74 62 89
E-mail protocol@parlam.kz
Website
http://www.parlam.kz/

ELECTORAL SYSTEM

Parliament name (generic / translated) Parlament / Parliament
Structure of parliament Bicameral
Chamber name (generic / translated) Mazhilis / House of Representatives
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Senate
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Electoral law 30 August 1995
Last amendment: 9 February 2009
Mode of designation directly elected 98
indirectly elected 9
Constituencies - One nationwide constituency for 98 seats
Voting system Proportional: Proportional Representation System (Party List System)
- Seats are attributed proportionally to parties that obtain over 7 per cent of the total votes (seven per cent threshold), by using the Largest Remainder System. In cases where there is a tie for the largest remainder, the seat will be attributed to the party list that was registered earlier. If only one party surpasses the threshold, the party getting the second highest number of votes receives at least two seats.
- Vacancies are filled by the "next-in-line" candidate of the same party. In cases where there are no candidates left on the corresponding party list, the seat remains vacant until the following elections to the House of Representatives.
Voting is not compulsory.
Voter requirements - age: 18 years
- Kazakh citizenship
Disqualifications: imprisonment, persons found guilty of committing corruption crime or offense by the court, or with a prior conviction, which has not been cancelled or withdrawn in the order established by law
CANDIDATES
Eligibility - qualified voters
- age: 25 years
- Kazakh citizenship
- residence in the country
- ineligibility: incapacity, court conviction
Incompatibilities - paid position outside Mazhilis
- member of another assembly
- entrepreneurial or other paid activity except teaching, research and creative activities
- member of a managing body or supervisory board of a commercial organization
Candidacy requirements - Submission of candidates by political parties
- Deposit of a fee equal to 15 times the minimum wage, set by the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan, for each person on the party list. However, no deposit fee is required for political parties that have received at least 7 per cent of the total votes in the previous election to the House of Representatives. Political parties that have secured between 5 and 7 per cent of the total votes in the previous elections are required to pay 50 per cent of the deposit fee. Those which have obtained between 3 and 5 per cent of the votes are required to pay 70 per cent of the deposit fee.
- The deposit is reimbursed to political parties that receive at least 7 per cent of the total votes in the elections concerned, and in the eventuality that the sole candidate on the party list dies.

LAST ELECTIONS

Parliament name (generic / translated) Parlament / Parliament
Structure of parliament Bicameral
Chamber name (generic / translated) Mazhilis / House of Representatives
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Senate
BACKGROUND
Dates of election / renewal (from/to) 20 March 2016
Timing and scope of renewal The snap elections in 2016 returned a nearly identical composition of the House of Representatives. The People's Democratic Party "Nur Otan", led by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, took 84 seats, up from 83, of the 98 directly elected seats. Two other pro-presidential parties – the Democratic Party of Kazakhstan (Ak Zhol), led by former Nur Otan official Azat Peruashev and the Communist People’s Party of Kazakhstan, led by Zhambyl Akhmetbekov - took the remainder.

The 2016 elections were held amid an economic crisis, triggered by low oil prices. The election campaign was reportedly low key.
At the first session of the newly-elected House of Representatives, President Nazarbayev, in power since 1989, stressed the need to amend the legislation on competitiveness and modernize the legislation on issues of self-government. He tasked parliament with passing a single tax and customs code in order to ensure the transparency of all fiscal procedures.
Date of previous elections: 15 January 2012

Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 20 January 2016

Timing of election: Early elections

Expected date of next elections: March 2021

Number of seats at stake: 98 (full renewal)*
*In addition, there are nine members indirectly elected with the consent of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan.

Number of candidates: 234 (187 men, 47 women)

Percentage of women candidates: 20.1%

Number of parties contesting the election: 6

Number of parties winning seats: 3

Alternation of power: No

Date of the first session of the new parliament: 25 March 2016

Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Baktykozha Izmukhambetov (People's Democratic Party "Nur Otan")
STATISTICS
Voter turnout
Round no 120 March 2016
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes
9'810'852
7'566'150 (77.12%)

Notes
Distribution of votes
Round no 1
Political group Candidates Votes % of votes
People's Democratic Party "Nur Otan"
Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan
Democratic Party of Kazakhstan (Ak Zhol)
Distribution of seats
Round no 1
Political Group Total of seats
People's Democratic Party "Nur Otan" 84
Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan 7
Democratic Party of Kazakhstan (Ak Zhol) 7
Distribution of seats according to sex
Men

Women

Percent of women
78

29

27.10%
Distribution of seats according to age
Distribution of seats according to profession
Comments
Sources:
House of Representatives (30.03.2016, 09.04.2016)
http://www.election.kz/rus/news/acts/index.php?ID=3293
http://www.election.kz/rus/news/messages/index.php?ID=3294
http://www.inform.kz/eng
http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/kazakhstan/229101?download=true

This page was last updated on 19 September 2017
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