OCCRP: Kazakhstan’s elections took place amid unprecedented pressure on journalists

The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an international network of investigative journalists, has published an article on Kazakhstan’s elections to its new unicameral parliament. The article states that the vote took place against a backdrop of mounting pressure on independent journalists.

The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil Soz” is publishing excerpts from the article.

“The newly formed pro-presidential Adilet party won a decisive victory in the election. According to Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission, the party received 71.17% of the vote — around 6.5 million ballots. Voter turnout stood at 74%. Four other parties also crossed the five-percent threshold.

According to international observers, none of the seven parties that took part in the elections can be considered genuinely opposed to the policies of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The new unicameral parliament, the Kurultai, was established as part of constitutional reforms and replaced the previous bicameral legislature. The new legislative body consists of 145 members and is elected entirely through party lists.

Independent observers, however, note that the election campaign was preceded by increased pressure on some of the country’s most critical journalists and civil society representatives.

Nazira Darimbet, President of the International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil Soz,” told OCCRP that these were the first elections she could remember that ‘took place in complete silence, as quiet as a cemetery,’ with independent journalists effectively unable to document violations in full.

‘All of this is linked to unprecedented pressure on journalists, which is most likely only going to intensify,’ Darimbet said.

Five days before the election, former Orda editor-in-chief Gulnara Bazhkenova was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of embezzlement, illegal entrepreneurship and knowingly disseminating false information. The sentence was deferred for two years because she has a minor child.

Bazhkenova was also banned from engaging in journalistic activity and holding managerial positions for five years. She denied the charges.

In July, journalist and political commentator Azamat Omarov, author of the YouTube channel Akhual Segodnya, was arrested. He is suspected of inciting social, national, racial or religious discord.

‘Omarov made a satirical video about the new Constitution and the elections and also spoke critically about the authorities and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev,’ Nazira Darimbet said.

The journalist’s YouTube channel is currently unavailable.

The article also mentions journalists Lukpan Akhmedyarov and Dinara Yegeubayeva, both of whom have been banned from leaving the country.

Akhmedyarov is suspected of knowingly disseminating false information. Colleagues and activists link the criminal case to his publication of information about Kazakhstani citizens who, according to data from a Ukrainian project, are taking part in the war on Russia’s side.

‘Why are they going to prosecute him for false information if he took it from an official website?’ Darimbet asked.

According to the Adil Soz president, such cases and convictions may have broader consequences for the work of journalists.

‘All these convictions and criminal cases serve the authorities’ main objective — to promote self-censorship and intimidate journalists and media outlets,’ she said.

Diana Okremova, head of the Legal Media Center, also told OCCRP that by the time of the election, journalists and activists were operating in an atmosphere of intense pressure.

‘By Election Day, everyone was simply afraid of saying or doing something wrong,’ Okremova said.

According to her, journalists faced not only criminal and administrative pressure, but also attempts to block their social media accounts.

‘The online space was virtually the only place where people could express their opinions. But after a series of attacks, it was almost completely destroyed,’ she said.

Diana Okremova’s own Facebook account was blocked following a copyright complaint after she published information about the Legal Media Center’s case against the Ministry of Culture concerning access to information.

Read the full article on the OCCRP website.