A "purely familiarization" candidate?
A. Weiskopf, V. Volkov
There were three big questions on the agenda of the presidential race
in Kazakhstan until past week: when will the election be held, will Nursultan Nazarbayev
participate and will they allow single opposition candidate to participate.
The simplest question was answered last Sunday when the President
confirmed his intention to run for yet another term. The Constitution allows him to do s,
said Nursultan Nazarbayev in a televised interview. A more delicate question is when the
election will be held. Because of various interpretations of the Constitution, two
possible dates of the election are mentioned: December 2005 or December 2006. (The problem
emerged because of the previous election when Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected to a
seven-year term, as that election failed to "keep time". The election was held
in January 1999 instead of December 1998 as the Constitution stipulates.) The
Constitutional Council can resolve this dilemma, but this body has kept silence so far.
MPs voice their concern over the situation. For instance, on Monday a group of lower
chamber deputies forwarded a letter to the Constitutional Council asking to interpret the
constitutional provisions about the date of vote. Under the existing law, the
Constitutional Council will have to accept the inquiry for consideration or turn it down
within three days. However, they would hardly turn it down as the inquiry has been
initiated by a deputy affiliated with the pro-government Otan party along with the Kazakh
President. It should be mentioned that a number of high-ranking officials close to
Nursultan Nazarbayev have often spoke in favor of holding the election on December 2006,
while the opposition has insisted that the election should take place in 2005. This is
understandable as they are speaking about an extra year that the incumbent president could
remain at the helm. This point of view was emphasized in an interview to the Deutsche
Welle by a leader of Kazakh united opposition Zharmakhan Tuyakbai, who is expected to
become Nursultan Nazarbayev's main rival if the authorities register him as a candidate.
ZhT: From the very beginning, we have been governed by law and
common sense and said that the election should take place in December 2005. The
Constitution stipulates that the current presidential term expires in January 2006.
Therefore, we haven't changed our position regarding that and are not going to do so. As
for the participation of president Nazarbayev in the forthcoming election, we have no
doubts regarding this either. He would run for president, as the authoritarian system he
has built is unable to simply give over the absolute authority to another man. Nursultan
Nazarbayev would use the smallest opportunity to hold on to power. In order to put off the
judgment of history he would cling to power till the very end.
- Nursultan Nazarbayev intends to run for president for yet another
term. Doesn't the fact perplex you?
ZhT: This perplexes me and this perplexes the Kazakh people too.
The people are tired of his rule as president for over 15 years, to say nothing of the
fact that he held office as the first secretary of the communist party and - prior to that
- as chairman of the council of ministers in the Kazakh SSR. Everyone wonders whether he
is going to end his rule and transfer power to other people who are capable to bring a
true prosperity to Kazakhstan and Kazakh nation or not.
It should also be mentioned that there is a wing among the Kazakh
united opposition who has a more radical viewpoint than Zharmakhan Tuyakbai. They believe
that Nursultan Nazarbayev's participation in the election should be regarded as an attempt
of coup d'etat, as his legitimate tenure expires in 2006 at the latest.
"Past elections, no matter the extent of falsifications, were held
in periods as provided for by the Constitution. That's why the opposition didn't decide to
take people out into the street. However, the presidential election, provided Nursultan
Nazarbayev takes part in it, will be unconstitutional and the people would have any right
to go into squares in protest. This means that we should protest not the election results
but the illegal participation of Nursultan Nazarbayev in the election, says an internal
opposition document that Deutsche Welle has got hold of.
- Let's get back to the opinion of the single opposition candidate.
Official opinion polls show that Nursultan Nazarbayev is highly popular with Kazakh
citizens. Mr. Tuyakbai, is the opposition going to actively work with population to
explain their strategy? How will it be done?
ZhT: We lack the resources that the authorities and Mr.
Nazarbayev's entourage have today. Our work with the population hasn't changed
strategically. We are going to continue working on the "door-to-door" basis. Our
task is to bring home to every Kazakh citizen and every member of our society and explain
how things really stand in Kazakhstan. We want to show that we are living now in a society
stricken with arbitrariness, corruption and poverty. Therefore, explaining these things
and bringing them home to every member of our society is our basic weapon, our basic means
of electioneering.
- High-level corruption is one of the most serious accusations of
opposition against the current regime. In particular, opposition speaks about the
notorious "Kazakhgate" scandal widely known in the West. This trial is under way
in New York. Your have been abroad recently. Could you please tell us some details about
your overseas trip? Is there any news about the trial?
ZhT: Yes, I was in the US on the invitation of Senator McCain,
leader of the republican majority in the US Senate. It was a purely familiarization
meeting. I have seen for myself that US officials and prominent politicians are well aware
of the situation in our state, the size of deep-rooted arbitrariness and corruption in
Kazakhstan. They know about the crackdown on dissenters and political opponents of the
ruling regime. They are ready to render our movement moral and political assistance.
Political assistance, in particular. I believe that the objective assessment of current
situation in Kazakhstan allows us to hope that the international community won't stand by
and watch while the authorities will hold unfair presidential elections in Kazakhstan.
- Is there any news about the "Kazakhgate"?
ZhT: As for the "Kazakhgate", I have no other details
except that the trial has been adjourned until January 2006. However, I met with reporters
who write about this case in the US press and saw once again that there is much evidence
proving the guilt of our high-level officials and their involvement in the graft along
with Mr. Giffen, a US citizen.
- There were reports about your meeting with George Bush. Is this
information correct?
ZhT: No comment.
Therefore, opposition has some serious arguments on the political
level. But will opponents of the regime be allowed to participate in the election,
especially on equal footing? Experts of the international groups doubt this. But we will
get an answer to the question whether the single opposition candidate will overcome the
registration barrier only after the registration begins. However, he is facing a security
problem right now. A recent incident has given new reasons for concern when a week ago a
combat grenade was discovered at the front door where the family of Serik Medetbekov, the
opposition activist and a leader of the foreign bureau, lives. We ask Zharmakhan Tuyakbai:
DW: How is safety of opposition leaders ensured?
ZhT: As former prosecutor general, as chairman of the
governmental investigative committee, as a person who knows much about the resources that
the authorities have to fight their opponents, I believe it makes no sense to take any
measures to enhance our self-defense against the current regime or improve security.
Perhaps, the most important thing for us now is not improving security but your support,
the support of mass media, and the support of our citizens. Every move, every measures of
the regime designed to use force against opposition members should be highlighted in the
press and every Kazakh citizen should learn about them. I believe this is the best
guarantee of our safety.
- Is the "opposition backbone" united on the actions that
you should take in the future? Is the opposition ready to strongly oppose the authorities?
ZhT: First of all, I would like to emphasize that the opposition
has united to win a victory over the current regime. Until recently we spoke about our
inability to accept the ruling regime. Now we are united by the idea how to defeat this
regime and build our state in the post-Nazarbayev period.
DW: How far the opposition is prepared to go?
ZhT: That depends on the authorities and their actions. If the
regime continues to create the atmosphere of fear, crackdown on dissent, we and the
people, active members of our society will choose to go into the streets to oppose the
regime.
But before we speak about opposition between the regime and opposition
in the streets, let's get back to the disputed question regarding the election date. An
informed source in Astana told DW that the president's entourage has already decided that
the election will take place in December 2005. According to the source, a reason here is
the "Kazakhgate" trial which is to resume in New York in January 2006 and could
potentially seriously harm Nursultan Nazarbayev's image in the run-up to elections.
dw-world.de
Deutsche Welle, July 4, 2005 |
