Articles by Assel Satubaldina

ASTANA – Svevind, the company behind Europe’s largest wind farm in Sweden, is running a green hydrogen project in the Mangystau Region, seeking to establish Kazakhstan as a reliable supplier of green energy in the form of hydrogen and ammonia for the global markets, said the company’s CEO Wolfgang Kropp in an interview with The…

ASTANA – A new party called Baitak with an environmental focus received registration from the Kazakh Ministry of Justice on Nov. 30, the party’s founder and chair Azamatkhan Amirtay shared on his Facebook. With the Baitak party, there are now six political parties in Kazakhstan, including the Amanat party, Ak Zhol Democratic Party of Kazakhstan,…

ASTANA – Kazakh and European political experts gathered on Nov. 28 in Brussels to share their views on the ongoing political changes in Kazakhstan and the country’s efforts to navigate the challenging circumstances that the world finds itself in today.   A panel session, titled Kazakhstan in 2022 – a Seismic Year of Change and Unprecedented…

ASTANA – There can be no winners in a nuclear war and it must never be unleashed. This is one of the premises in the declaration signed by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Nov. 28.  Tokayev’s visit to Moscow on Nov. 28, the first foreign visit since his…

ASTANA – The guaranteed transfer from the National Fund of Kazakhstan to the country’s budget will reach 2.2 trillion tenge (US$4.7 billion) in 2023 and is set to decline moving forward, according to a law signed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Nov. 24.  The transfer will make two trillion tenge ($4.3 billion) in 2024 and…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia as he addressed the Collective Security Council session of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) on Nov. 23 in Yerevan, reported the presidential press service.  Tokayev emphasized the time has come for a “joint collective search for a formula for peace.”  “Any…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies convened on Nov. 21. political experts to discuss the presidential election that the country had on Nov. 20 and share forecasts for the development of the country’s political discourse in the future.  A final statement released by the Central Election Commission on Nov. 22 shows Tokayev winning 81.31…

ASTANA – 69.43 percent of Kazakhstan’s eligible voters participated in the country’s presidential election on Nov. 20 as of 10 p.m. local Astana time, announced the Central Election Commission (CEC) at a press briefing on Nov. 20. Polling stations closed throughout the country at 8 p.m. local Astana time. In the country’s five regions –…

ASTANA – Voter turnout in Kazakhstan’s presidential election hit 51.16 percent as of 2 p.m. local Astana time, announced the Central Election Commission member Sabila Mustafina at a press briefing on Nov. 20.  Kazakhstan holds its presidential elections today, Nov. 20. As of 2 p.m. local Astana time, 6,113,621 people out of 11,950,485 eligible voters…

ASTANA – The six people who sought to become the next president of Kazakhstan came to vote, exercising their constitutional right during election day on Nov. 20. Among the candidates, Zhiguli Dairabayev, running from the Auyl party, was the first to come to a polling station at around 7 a.m. in Astana. “The mood is…

ASTANA – The year 2022 was not easy for Kazakhstan and by voting today in the presidential elections, people are voting for a bright future for the country, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told journalists after casting his vote at a polling station located at the Palace of Schoolchildren in Astana.  Tokayev is among the six candidates…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s presidential election sees 23.37 percent voter turnout, announced Central Election Commission (CEC) member Shavkhat Otemisov at a press briefing on Nov. 20. Kazakhstan holds presidential elections today, Nov. 20. There are six candidates competing for the country’s highest office – incumbent president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Karakat Abden, Meiram Kazhyken, Nurlan Auesbayev, Saltanat Tursynbekova,…

ASTANA – Nearly 11 million citizens across Kazakhstan will head to polling stations today on Nov. 20 to vote for the country’s next President.  There are 11,950,485 eligible voters in Kazakhstan. On Sunday, 10,101 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time nationwide and will close at 8 p.m.  Citizens traveling or residing abroad will…

ASTANA – Few days before the election day in Kazakhstan, Kazakh citizens will be able to cast their vote in 53 countries. The Astana Times spoke to Kazakh citizens residing abroad to learn about their stance regarding voting.  According to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Aibek Smadiyarov, on election day citizens of Kazakhstan will have…

ASTANA – Kazakh capital Astana hosted a Strategic Initiatives Forum on Nov. 16 gathering top scholars and experts to discuss their vision of Kazakhstan’s future and the priority reforms for the next seven years.  The four panel sessions were attended by the heads of state bodies, national companies, representatives of big businesses, public and political…

ASTANA – The devaluation of the idea of justice and the mutual estrangement between the state and society were the main causes behind the January tragedy, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during his Nov. 16 meeting with the public in Almaty, reported the presidential press service.  The January tragedy refers to peaceful protests that broke out…

ASTANA – Saudi Arabia is keen to strengthen cooperation with Kazakhstan for the interests of both peoples, Yahya Ahmad D Okeish, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Kazakhstan, said in an interview with The Astana Times, a few hours after the diplomats’ meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Akorda on…

ASTANA – Kazakh songs have a distinctive sound that warms people’s hearts. The songs of Dos-Mukasan, a famous Kazakh rock and pop music group from the 1970s, have that effect every time you listen to one of their songs.  The Sept. 29 release of the movie that tells the band’s story, similar to “Bohemian Rhapsody,”…

ASTANA – Five Kazakh presidential candidates and one representative of a candidate presented election programs in a Nov. 12 live televised debate at the Kazmedia Center in the capital. At the debate, Mazhilis Chair and Amanat Party Chair Yerlan Koshanov represented presidential candidate and incumbent President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Karakat Abden, Zhiguli Dairabayev, Nurlan Auesbayev, Saltanat…

Editor’s note: As Kazakhstan heads to the presidential elections on Nov. 20, The Astana Times will contribute a series of articles in the format of reviews and interviews providing an outlook into the electoral programs of each of the candidates.   ASTANA – Saltanat Tursynbekova is running for the office of the president in the upcoming…

ASTANA – The Election Observation Mission (EOM) of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) published an interim report on Nov. 4 outlining their findings as the mission continues its work, just 12 days before the presidential elections in Kazakhstan.  The mission began its work on Oct. 18 headed by Ambassador Urszula…

ASTANA – The Constitutional Court, which will start functioning on Jan. 1, 2023, will ensure the more effective protection of human rights in Kazakhstan as citizens will be able to appeal directly to the court, said Maulen Ashimbayev, speaker of the Senate, an upper chamber of the Kazakh Parliament.  President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed six laws…

ASTANA – As the election campaign period continues in Kazakhstan until Nov. 18, its focus is primarily on social obligations, said political expert Daniyar Ashimbayev.  “Apparently, there is a certain set of explicitly populist slogans that the electoral headquarters have agreed not to bring up for discussions, such as credit amnesty and the privatization of…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed into law the constitutional amendments to re-establish the Constitutional Court and expand the powers of the country’s Human Rights Commissioner and the human rights focus of the Prosecutor General, among other laws, at a public ceremony on Nov. 5 at Akorda, reported the presidential press service.  The six laws…

ASTANA – Ahead of the presidential elections in Kazakhstan scheduled for Nov. 20, the country’s youth is ready to head to the polls to vote for their new President. Though public opinion about the upcoming elections diverges, with people still questioning the need for an ahead-of-schedule election, casting a vote remains a civic duty for…