ASTANA – Six parties have been elected to the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the Kazakh parliament, according to the preliminary results announced by the Central Election Commission on March 20.
Six out of the seven parties that participated in the election received enough votes to pass the required five percent threshold to gain seats in parliament. Amanat party won a majority with 53.9 percent of the vote, Auyl People’s Patriotic Democratic Party received 10.9 percent, Respublica party – 8.59 percent, Aq Jol Democratic Party – 8.41 percent, People’s Party of Kazakhstan – 6.8 percent, and National Social Democratic Party – 5.2 percent.
Baytaq received only 2.3 percent, which means it will have no representatives in parliament. Approximately 3.9 percent of the voters chose the option “against all” on the ballot.
Over 6.3 million people out of more than 12 million eligible voters cast their ballots in the Mazhilis and maslikhat (local representative body) election on March 19, a voter turnout of over 54 percent.
