Kazakhstan Holds Election: President Tightens His Grip on Power

A new pro-presidential party has won a massive majority in Kazakhstan’s latest vote. Critics say the process lacked real competition.

Kazakhstan held a parliamentary election this week, and the results are now in. A party that supports the current president won a huge majority of the seats. Exit polls show the Amanat party—the president’s party—dominated the vote. Because of this win, the president will have even more control over the government than he had before. While the government says the vote went smoothly, many observers and international news outlets are calling it a "cosmetic" election. That means they believe the outcome was basically decided before people even went to the polls. Critics say there was no real …