Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Alimkah_Yassengediev, hosted an Iftar Ceremoney in the Embassy of the Kazahkstan in Kabul. Representative of the Afghan National Parliament, MoHE, Universities, President Media Advisor, Media Outlets, CSOs, and Foreign Delegations participated in the event. Geldiev briefed the participants on Kazakhstan early presidential elections, the challenges and opportunities of the elections, bilateral relations between the two countries, and strategic commitment of Kazakhstan on boosting sustainable regional cooperation.
Referring to the reasons of early elections, Geldiev said,  “as you are in the picture the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, resigned in March 2019. “ According to the Constitution of Kazakhstan the speaker of the legislative upper house, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, replaced him as the interim head of state until a new election is held”, he added.
According to the Country’s constitution and electoral law, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, can serve as the Interim head of the state until 2020, but he decided to hold the election June 9 to put an end to political uncertainty in the Central Asian nation. In terms of legal aspects of the early elections Tokayev consulted with the Constitution High Council and it announced that it did not have any legal problem to hold a snap presidential election.
President has specific duties and absolute authorities. “Practicing these authorities requires to hold the elections, because the interim head cannot practice them”, Geldiev clarified.
The new president shall work on the implementation of the strategy of Elbasy,” Gediev said, referring to Nazarbayev by his constitutional title which translates as “Leader of the Nation”. This can help us to cope with the economic challenges that face the country.
Referring to the political challenges of the presidential election, Geldiev said, “Comparing to Afghanistan we have less political challenges, however, there are certain challenges that we shall cope with them; one of the major presidential election challenges in Kazakhstan is the political opposition groups,” he said. They can misuse the power vacuum in the country. In terms of crisis management in the country, he said, “Since speaker of the legislative upper house, who has replaced the president as the head of the interim government, is not an elected person, does not have the necessary power to well manage the crisis in the country.”
Referring to the long presidential tenure of Nazarbayev, “considering the transition period, the previous president served for a long time to prepare the grounds for a stable nation,” he said.
The main aim of the presidential election is to support the president and enable him to charge his roles and responsibilities properly. Referring to the status of Nazarbayev, he said, “The first Kazakh president will remain as “Leader of the Nation” and founder of Kazakhstan. He will be the head of the National Security Council. The permanent and non-permanent members of NSC will be introduced by the leader and approved by the president. The “Leader of the Nation” will chair Noor Watan Party, the ruling party of Kazakhstan which more than 70 percent of the nation supports it,” he stated. “The Leader also is the chairman of the National Assembly of Kazakhstan People that its main duty is to protect the interests of the Kazakh people including the minorities,” he added.
Referring to the continuation of the Kazakhstan foreign policy, he said, “We submitted our first note to the embassy of Afghanistan in Kazakhstan and embassies of other countries, reaffirming that our policies towards Afghanistan will not change and we will continue supporting Afghanistan.” And we will continue our regional cooperation strategies.
Transparency and credibility of the presidential election are the issues that have raised concerns in the country. “International observers and observers of the political parties will oversight the elections to ensure a credible election,” he said.
Regarding of the election results, Geldiev said that the people of Kazakhstan are the ultimate decision makers and we will respect their decision. “Regardless of the presidential election results, we will maintain our good relations with Afghanistan, he emphasized.
Kazakhstan presidential election will be held on June 9, 2019. This is one of major political developments that will have specific democratic outcomes for Kazakhstan and the region. As Kazakhstan is one of the main supporters of Afghanistan in different areas, especially in higher education and economic sectors, this election is considered very vital for the future relations of the two countries. A Transparent and credible presidential election can ensure continuation of maintaining stability and ethnic peace in Kazakhstan. It will facilitate the rise of a new generation of leaders who will continue the reforms that are under way in the country and will accelerate economic development in Kazakhstan.