Kazakh President Dissolves Parl't, Calls Early Election 19 Mar

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has dissolved the lower house of Parliament, the Majilis, and announced snap elections to be held on 19 March. The announcement comes following the snap presidential election of Nov 2022, that saw Tokayev re-elected with 81% of the vote.

• Earlier in 2022, the president stated that in the wake of the January riots that rocked the nation, political reforms would be enacted to change the Kazakh system of governance from a "super-presidential form of government" to a presidential republic with a strong parliament.
• Kazakhstan remains a major supplier of oil and gas to China as well as Europe, and as such the future political direction of the country will be closely watched in Beijing and EU capitals.
• Moscow has also historically viewed Kazakhstan as within its sphere of influence. While the election does not signal a shift to full multi-party democracy in Kazakhstan, the campaign and vote will garner attention in the Kremlin. Some hardline Russian nationalists in the State Duma have called for similar actions to those seen in Ukraine in Kazakhstan due to the sizeable Russian minority there.