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| Kazakhstan Gets New Leader, but Old System’s Grip on Power Remains | Kazakhstan Gets New Leader, but Old System’s Grip on Power Remains |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| MOSCOW — Ruled by the same authoritarian leader since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan finally has a new president, with lopsided election results released on Monday confirming the victory of the old order’s handpicked candidate in a tightly controlled vote marred by hundreds of detentions. | MOSCOW — Ruled by the same authoritarian leader since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan finally has a new president, with lopsided election results released on Monday confirming the victory of the old order’s handpicked candidate in a tightly controlled vote marred by hundreds of detentions. |
| Preliminary official results from Sunday’s vote showed that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the governing party’s chosen successor to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, had won 70.7 percent of the vote, far ahead of his nearest rival, an officially sanctioned opposition candidate, Amirzhan Kosanov, who received only 16 percent. | Preliminary official results from Sunday’s vote showed that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the governing party’s chosen successor to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, had won 70.7 percent of the vote, far ahead of his nearest rival, an officially sanctioned opposition candidate, Amirzhan Kosanov, who received only 16 percent. |
| The election was denounced as unfair by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The organization, in a statement on Monday, said the poll had taken place “in a political environment dominated by the ruling party” and been compromised by “irregularities on Election Day and a disregard for formal procedures” that meant “an honest count could not be guaranteed.” | The election was denounced as unfair by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The organization, in a statement on Monday, said the poll had taken place “in a political environment dominated by the ruling party” and been compromised by “irregularities on Election Day and a disregard for formal procedures” that meant “an honest count could not be guaranteed.” |
| Mr. Nazarbayev, the country’s 78-year-old former Communist Party chief, announced in March that he was handing over his presidential powers to Mr. Tokayev, while retaining his posts as head of the security council and the governing party. | Mr. Nazarbayev, the country’s 78-year-old former Communist Party chief, announced in March that he was handing over his presidential powers to Mr. Tokayev, while retaining his posts as head of the security council and the governing party. |
| The result and the heavy-handed police action on Sunday against peaceful protesters suggest that while the country’s veteran leader has relinquished the presidency, the system he established during his 28 years in office remains firmly in place. Before becoming president, he served as the chief of the Communist Party in Kazakhstan, which was then a part of the Soviet Union. | |
| Eager to head off protests during a vote that the opposition denounced as a farce rigged in favor of Mr. Tokayev, the authorities shut down Facebook and Telegram, a mobile messaging service, in an effort to muzzle calls for public displays of dissent. | Eager to head off protests during a vote that the opposition denounced as a farce rigged in favor of Mr. Tokayev, the authorities shut down Facebook and Telegram, a mobile messaging service, in an effort to muzzle calls for public displays of dissent. |
| The outcome of Sunday’s election, like those of all previous elections in the country, was never in doubt, despite efforts by Mr. Tokayev, 66, a former prime minister and foreign minister under Mr. Nazarbayev, to promote a somewhat softer image than his predecessor and mentor. | The outcome of Sunday’s election, like those of all previous elections in the country, was never in doubt, despite efforts by Mr. Tokayev, 66, a former prime minister and foreign minister under Mr. Nazarbayev, to promote a somewhat softer image than his predecessor and mentor. |
| “If there are people chanting such slogans, that is their choice,” Mr. Tokayev told the Kazakh service of Radio Liberty, a United States-funded media outlet. Security forces, however, moved swiftly during voting on Sunday to silence all such chants. | “If there are people chanting such slogans, that is their choice,” Mr. Tokayev told the Kazakh service of Radio Liberty, a United States-funded media outlet. Security forces, however, moved swiftly during voting on Sunday to silence all such chants. |
| Around 500 people were detained, including a number of Kazakh and foreign journalists, during abortive protest efforts in the country’s capital, formerly known as Astana but recently renamed Nur-Sultan in honor of the former president, and Almaty, the business capital. | Around 500 people were detained, including a number of Kazakh and foreign journalists, during abortive protest efforts in the country’s capital, formerly known as Astana but recently renamed Nur-Sultan in honor of the former president, and Almaty, the business capital. |
| One foreign journalist, Chris Rickleton, a correspondent for the French news agency Agence France-Presse and a contributor to Eurasianet, a news site focused on the region, tweeted a picture of himself in a police van with his face bruised. He said the bruise had followed a “rough arrest,” adding that he was not beaten deliberately, but fell on the knee of an arresting officer. | |
| Most of those detained on Sunday were released without being charged, but scores more were taken into custody on Monday. | Most of those detained on Sunday were released without being charged, but scores more were taken into custody on Monday. |
| The government blamed the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, a foreign-based opposition group that authorities have designated as an extremist organization, for the clashes between the police and protesters. | The government blamed the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, a foreign-based opposition group that authorities have designated as an extremist organization, for the clashes between the police and protesters. |
| The Kazakh state news media quoted the first deputy interior minister, Marat Kozhayev, as saying that “fugitive leaders of this organization” had orchestrated “socially disruptive rallies” and “embarked on a major propaganda push to discredit the authorities.” | The Kazakh state news media quoted the first deputy interior minister, Marat Kozhayev, as saying that “fugitive leaders of this organization” had orchestrated “socially disruptive rallies” and “embarked on a major propaganda push to discredit the authorities.” |
| The only real question in the election, observers said, was the size of Mr. Tokayev’s victory and whether he would be allowed to come close to matching Mr. Nazarbayev, who won 97.7 percent of the vote in the last presidential poll in 2015. | The only real question in the election, observers said, was the size of Mr. Tokayev’s victory and whether he would be allowed to come close to matching Mr. Nazarbayev, who won 97.7 percent of the vote in the last presidential poll in 2015. |
| While intolerant of public dissent, Mr. Nazarbayev mostly avoided the systematic brutality of other Central Asian dictators like Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan, who died in 2016, and Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan, who died in 2006. He also won genuine support from many Kazakhs for keeping their country stable and overseeing its transformation from a poor Soviet satrapy into an emerging and, thanks to revenue from oil, relatively prosperous regional power. | While intolerant of public dissent, Mr. Nazarbayev mostly avoided the systematic brutality of other Central Asian dictators like Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan, who died in 2016, and Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan, who died in 2006. He also won genuine support from many Kazakhs for keeping their country stable and overseeing its transformation from a poor Soviet satrapy into an emerging and, thanks to revenue from oil, relatively prosperous regional power. |
| All of the region’s first generation of post-Soviet leaders have been former senior Communist Party officials who mutated into champions of independence as the Soviet Union crumbled. Mr. Tokayev studied in Moscow and served in the Soviet foreign ministry but was never a senior figure in the party. | All of the region’s first generation of post-Soviet leaders have been former senior Communist Party officials who mutated into champions of independence as the Soviet Union crumbled. Mr. Tokayev studied in Moscow and served in the Soviet foreign ministry but was never a senior figure in the party. |