Qurultay elections: Nearly four candidates to compete for each seat
Kazakhstan's Central Election Commission has registered the candidate lists of all seven parties for the Qurultay elections, with 545 candidates vying for 145 seats, Qazinform News Agency reports.
On July 1, the Commission approved the list of parties eligible to participate in the Qurultay elections: Respublica, the Ak Zhol Democratic Party, the People's Party of Kazakhstan, Baytaq, Adilet, the Nationwide Social Democratic Party, and Auyl.
By 6:00 p.m. on July 13, all seven parties had submitted their candidate lists. The documents were then forwarded to government agencies to verify that candidates met the requirements specified in the Constitution and the Constitutional Law on Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Following the review, the Commission registered all candidates who complied with the legal requirements.
The Adilet Party topped the list with 186 candidates – more than a third of the total. They were followed by Respublica (75), the People's Party of Kazakhstan (72), Auyl (69), Ak Zhol (63), Baytaq (47), and the Nationwide Social Democratic Party (33).
The party lists include candidates from a wide range of professions and industries – lawmakers, entrepreneurs, public figures, athletes, journalists, environmentalists, doctors, teachers, engineers, lawyers, and representatives of education, science, medicine, culture, IT, and the public sector.
All registered party lists meet the 30% quota for women, youth, and persons with disabilities. The Commission has reminded parties that the quota must also be observed when allocating parliamentary mandates.
Respublica has the highest share of women, youth, and people with disabilities at 50.7% (38 people), followed by Adilet at 47.3% (88), the Nationwide Social Democratic Party at 42.4% (14), Auyl at 42% (29), the People's Party of Kazakhstan at 41.7% (30), Baytaq at 38.3% (18), and Ak Zhol at 34.9% (22).
In total, 545 candidates were registered for the 145-seat Qurultay, meaning the competition stands at roughly 3.8 candidates per seat.
Campaigning kicked off on July 23 at 6:01 p.m. and will continue until midnight on August 22, as approved by the Central Election Commission (CEC).
The Qurultay elections are scheduled for August 23, 2026.
