At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Kazakhstan

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Nursultan Abishevich NAZARBAYEV
• Head of Government: President Nursultan Abishevich NAZARBAYEV
• Assembly: Kazakhstan has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 39 seats and the Majilis with 77 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by simple majority vote to serve a 7-year term.
• In the Senate, 7 members are appointed to serve 6-year terms and 32 members are elected by indirect vote to serve 6-year terms*. In the Majilis, 67 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms and 10 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.**

* In the Senate, 7 members are appointed by the president and 40 are elected by indirect vote by state assemblies, all to serve 6-year terms.

** 67 members are elected by popular vote and 10 are chosen from the winning party's lists, all to serve 5-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Nursultan Abishevich NAZARBAYEV
  • Party: Fatherland Party / Otan
• Zharmakhan Aitbaevich TUYAKBAI**
  • Party: Coalition for Democratic Forces
• Alikhan Mukhamediyevich BAIMENOV
  • Party: Bright Path (Ak Zhol) Democratic Party of Kazakhstan
• Yerasyl Abylkasymovich ABYLKASYMOV
  • Party: Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan
• Mels Khamzayevich ELEUSIZOV*****
  • Party: Independent Candidate

** The Coalition for Democratic Forces "For a Just Kazakhstan" includes the Communist Party of Kazakhstan (KPK), the Pokolenie Pensioners' Movement, the Alga Party (part of the former Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan), and a faction that split from the Naghyz Ak Zhol Party.
***** Mels Khamzayevich ELEUSIZOV is a representative of the ecological union "Tabigat"

Last Presidential election:

• Presidential elections were last held on January 10, 1999, a year before scheduled. Nursultan A. NAZARBAYEV was reelected president with 81.7% of the vote. He was followed by Serikbolsyn ABDILDIN (12.1%), Gani KASYMOV (4.7%), and Engels GABBASOV (1.5%).

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 15,147,029 (2005)
• Registered Voters: 8,949,199 (December 2005)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 7,872,445 (2005)

·         Is Kazakhstan a signatory to CEDAW: N/A

·         Has Kazakhstan ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (26 August 1998)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 8 (Assembly) following the 2004 elections; 2 (Senate) following the 2005 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 56 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Kazakhstan a signatory to CRPD: Yes (11 December 2008)

·         Has Kazakhstan ratified CRPD: Yes (21 April 2015)

·         Population with a disability: 2,272,054 (est.)