Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev calls early parliamentary elections

Kazakh president calls early parliamentary elections

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Wednesday dissolved the lower chamber of parliament and called early parliamentary elections in January.

According to a presidential decree published on an official newspaper, the election from party lists will be held on Jan. 15, and other deputies will be chosen on Jan. 16 by a non-partisan consultative body loyal to Nazarbayev.

The next parliamentary elections had been scheduled for August 2012. However, early elections were widely expected after Nazarbayev, 71, won another five-year term in April.

Last week, the lower chamber, dominated by Nazarbayev's ruling Nur Otan party, asked the president to dissolve the chamber in a tentative move to change the one-party situation and admit opposition presence.

Reports said amendments to the electoral law will allow the entry of another party into parliament.

Editor: Xiong Tong

English.news.cn   2011-11-16 10:22:38 FeedbackPrintRSS
ALMATY, Nov. 16 (Xinhua)