A woman holds her ballot at a polling station during early parliamentary elections in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vladimir Tretyakov)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-08-23T06:21:09Z<\/p>\n
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) \u2014 Polls opened Sunday in Kazakhstan\u2019s<\/a><\/span> parliamentary elections, a vote expected to further to strengthen President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev\u2019s power<\/a><\/span> in Central Asia\u2019s largest nation.<\/p>\n The ruling pro-presidential Adilet party is widely predicted to win an overwhelming majority, with several smaller parties loyal to Tokayev also anticipated to enter parliament.<\/p>\n Tokayev, 73 \u2014 a former Soviet official and Kazakh diplomat who previously worked at the United Nations \u2014 has been in office since 2019.<\/p>\n It is the country\u2019s first elections to a new, single-chamber parliament called the Kurultai.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s vote is the culmination of a constitutional overhaul Tokayev initiated in March, when 87% of voters supported a referendum to merge the two chambers of parliament into one and grant the president authority to appoint key officials, subject to parliamentary approval, including reestablishing the vice presidency.<\/p>\n Tokayev, who has sought to maintain a delicate balance between Moscow and the West since sanctions were imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine, has justified the changes by citing the need for rapid decision-making in a fast-changing world.<\/p>\n Last month, Kazakhstan\u2019s Constitutional Court ruled that the amendments effectively reset the clock on Tokayev\u2019s previous terms in office, opening the door for him to run for another seven-year term.<\/p>\n The election comes at a difficult economic moment for Kazakhstan: inflation hit 10.2% in February, and tax hikes have fueled public discontent.<\/p>\n Analysts say the economic strain has made authorities wary of a repeat of the unrest of January 2022, when fuel price protests spiraled into violence that left dozens of protesters and police officers dead \u2014 a scenario Tokayev is seeking to guard against by concentrating power in his own hands.<\/p>\n