What It Costs Parties to Field Candidates in Kazakhstan’s Kurultai Election

Central Election Commission Secretary Shavkat Utemisov has outlined the electoral deposits political parties must pay for candidates in Kazakhstan’s first Kurultai election, scheduled for August 23, Orda.kz reports.

Parties must transfer the deposit from their own funds to the CEC’s account. The standard rate is 15 times the minimum monthly wage of 85,000 tenge, amounting to 1,275,000 tenge per candidate.

However, parties that received at least 5% of the vote in the March 2023 Mazhilis election are exempt from the deposit. Those that received between 3% and 5% must pay half the standard rate, while parties that secured between 1% and 3% must pay 70%.

Seven parties have submitted lists containing a total of 546 candidates:

• Adilet — 186
• Ak Zhol  — 63 candidates
• Auyl  — 69
• Baytaq — 47
• NSDP — 33
• People’s Party of Kazakhstan — 72
• Respublica  — 76

Ak Zhol, Auyl, the People’s Party of Kazakhstan, the Nationwide Social Democratic Party and Respublica will not pay an electoral deposit. Adilet must pay the full amount — 237.15 million tenge for its 186 candidates. Baytaq must pay 70% of the standard rate, totaling 41,947,500 tenge for 47 candidates.

The election features 546 candidates competing for 145 seats in the Kurultai. The government has allocated 34.3 billion tenge from its reserve to hold the election.

Original author: Ilya Astakhov

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