Ethnic Diversity in Parliament Just for Show

Among the constitutional changes adopted in Kazakstan this week, one provision stipulates that the Assembly of Peoples will be guaranteed representation in parliament. Although the move is designed to ensure more of a mix of ethnic minorities in the legislature, NBCentralAsia experts say it is unlikely to mean very much.



One of the amendments adopted on May 22 says the Assembly of Peoples will nominate nine members for election to the lower house of parliament or Majilis, and put forward 15 other names to the president for appointment to the upper house or Senate. This is part of a broade change involvig an increase in the number of seats for both chambers, and a switch to proportional representation for elections to all seats in the Majilis.



The next parliamentary election is scheduled for 2009.



The Assembly of Peoples of Kazakstan plays a consultative role for the President Nursultan Nazarbaev – who set it up in 1995 - rather than wielding real powers. Its official function is to monitor ethnic problems and prevent them from escalating, and to promote harmony among Kazakstan’s various communities.



NBCentralAsia analysts doubt that the change will result in true representation.



“I think it amount to representation in the formal sense and will not have much effect,” said analyst Seydahmet Kuttykadam, noting that the Assembly is not an elected body and will not be able to nominate parliamentary candidates who truly stand for the interests of the different ethnic groups.



According to the most recent census, conducted in 1999, Russians account for around 30 per cent of the population, followed by Ukrainians and Uzbeks.



The current parliament is overwhelmingly dominated by ethnic Kazaks and just 15 per cent of members are ethnic Russians.



Andrey Chebotarev, director of the Alternativa think-tank, says it is President Nazarbaev who will instruct the Assembly who to select for parliament. This system is a retrograde step reminiscent of Soviet times, when quotas were used to pick members of the Kazak republic’s Supreme Soviet.



Chebotarev sees the Assembly of Peoples as subordinate to the president, so that the people it nominates for parliament will be “representing their own interests rather than those of ethnic groups”.



In any case, nine seats in the Majilis are not enough to ensure adequate ethnic represention for Kazakstan, he added.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)