Elections - The Times Of Central Asia

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presidential election

Kyrgyzstan Moves 2027 Presidential Election to January 27

President Sadyr Japarov has signed legislation changing the schedule for Kyrgyzstan's next presidential election. Under the amendments, the vote will be held on 27 January 2027, the fourth Wednesday of January, instead of the fourth Sunday of the month, as provided for under the previous legislation. The amendments also retain the requirement that the Jogorku Kenesh, Kyrgyzstan's parliament, must schedule the presidential election no later than four months before polling day. Election day will be a paid day off. According to the explanatory note accompanying the legislation, moving the vote from Sunday to a weekday is expected to encourage higher voter turnout. Lawmakers argue that participation in some local elections has remained low in recent years. This is the second change to Kyrgyzstan's presidential election timetable in less than a year and a half. In April 2025, the authorities moved the vote from October 2026 to January 2027 so Japarov could complete the six-year mandate he won in 2021. The parliamentary calendar was changed separately later that year to prevent the two nationwide campaigns from overlapping. Japarov has served as president since 28 January 2021. Earlier this year, the Constitutional Court ruled that his current six-year mandate counts as his first under the 2021 Constitution, leaving him eligible to seek a second five-year term in 2027. The parliamentary election calendar was revised separately. Early elections to the Jogorku Kenesh were held on 30 November 2025, allowing the parliamentary and presidential electoral cycles to be separated. The authorities said the snap parliamentary vote was intended to prevent the two nationwide campaigns from coinciding in 2027. Earlier, The Times of Central Asia reported that a Kyrgyz court had convicted former security chief Kamchybek Tashiyev, former parliamentary speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu, and six others of plotting to overthrow the government. The case followed a February 2026 open letter calling for an early presidential election.

Kazakhstan Constitution

Tokayev Sets August 23 Election Date as Kazakhstan’s New Constitution Takes Effect

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared the start of a “new era” in the country’s history on July 1, as Kazakhstan’s new Constitution officially came into force following its approval in a nationwide referendum on March 15. “Today marks the beginning of a new era in the history of sovereign Kazakhstan. We are embarking on the path of steady progress, political and economic reforms, and large-scale modernization,” Tokayev said in an official address published on the presidential website. According to Tokayev, the new Constitution represents a fundamental restructuring of Kazakhstan’s political system and a transformation of the country’s key state and civil institutions. He said the March 15 referendum reflected what he described as a historic choice by the Kazakh people, one that would shape the country’s development for decades to come. Tokayev also noted that Constitution Day is now symbolically linked to the start of the “Nauryznama” decade, connecting Kazakhstan’s traditional spring renewal celebrations with the principles of the new Basic Law. In his address, Tokayev said the new constitutional framework would strengthen the values of law and order, hard work, progress, environmental responsibility, and national unity. On the same day, Tokayev signed a decree calling elections to Kazakhstan’s new unicameral parliament, the Kurultai, for August 23, 2026. As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan’s new Constitution formally entered into force on July 1, 2026, following the March referendum. As part of the constitutional transition, the country’s previous bicameral legislature, the Mazhilis and the Senate, ceased operations, making way for the new parliamentary structure.

Armenia

Pashinyan Victory Points to New Transport Options for Central Asia

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on June 8 after Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party won Armenia’s parliamentary election. The message came through Akorda. Tokayev said the vote, in the preliminary view of most international observers, was open, followed Armenian election law, and allowed citizens to express their will. Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission has released preliminary results from all 2,005 polling stations, giving Civil Contract 727,160 votes, or 49.81%. Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia bloc took 23.29%, while former President Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance took 9.94%. Turnout stood at 59%. Pashinyan is on course to form another government, but doesn’t have the two-thirds strength needed to change the constitution without a referendum. That limits his room for maneuver on a final peace agreement with Azerbaijan, since Baku still wants Yerevan to alter constitutional language it sees as a claim to Nagorno-Karabakh. [caption id="attachment_50178" align="aligncenter" width="1535"] A stall in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia, selling Nikol Pashinyan paraphernalia. Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland[/caption] Kazakhstan has built a close political track with Armenia over the past two years. In November 2025, Tokayev and Pashinyan elevated ties to a strategic partnership during Pashinyan’s official visit to Kazakhstan. The two sides discussed trade, transport, agriculture, digitalization, education, and culture. Armenian government readouts from the visit also linked Kazakh wheat shipments to regional route openings through the South Caucasus. This is the practical Central Asian stake in Pashinyan’s victory: a durable Armenia-Azerbaijan peace settlement would add another layer to westward routes from the Caspian. In October 2025, Azerbaijan removed all restrictions on cargo transit to Armenia. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev told Tokayev in Astana that a shipment of Kazakh grain through Azerbaijan to Armenia was the first such consignment since transit stopped in the late Soviet period. Kazakhstan already uses the Caspian and South Caucasus to reach Turkey and Europe, but that network depends on a limited number of crossings, ports, and rail links. If Armenia and Azerbaijan reopen transport ties, Astana gains another way to reduce chokepoints and strengthen its position. Pashinyan’s victory also sends a political signal. The vote tested whether Russian pressure could set the limits of Armenia’s domestic politics. International observers said the June 7 election offered voters a genuine choice in a well-run process. They also cited pressure from abroad through trade restrictions and security threats aimed at pushing voters toward the opposition. The same assessment warned of uneven campaign opportunities and perceptions of selective justice inside Armenia. However, Pashinyan still won in a “landslide” despite years of public anger over the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, a split with old security partners, and strong pressure from opposition groups with better ties to Moscow. The two main pro-Russian opposition forces won a combined 31%. The election came against a backdrop of Armenia’s break with Russian security organizations. When Azerbaijan took full control of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023 as Russian peacekeepers stayed on the sidelines in the breakaway territory’s dormant airport, Armenia concluded that Moscow would not protect it. In February 2024, Pashinyan said...

Elections

Kazakhstan Rules Out Fines for Not Voting in Elections

Kazakhstan does not plan to introduce compulsory voting or impose fines on citizens who fail to participate in elections and referendums, Central Election Commission (CEC) Secretary Shavkat Utemisov said. Speaking on the sidelines of a joint session of parliament, Utemisov acknowledged that declining voter participation, particularly among young people, remains a challenge in Kazakhstan. He said, however, that the country does not intend to adopt practices used in some states where voting is mandatory. Utemisov added that some countries have lowered the voting age, citing Belgium, while others impose penalties, including fines, on citizens who fail to appear at polling stations. “But Kazakhstan is not taking that path at the moment; for us, this issue is not as pressing as it is in the West,” he said. Kazakhstan’s most recent major electoral event was the constitutional referendum held on March 15. According to the CEC, approximately 12.4 million citizens were eligible to vote, while more than 9.1 million cast ballots, a turnout of 73.12%. The next major political event will be elections to Kazakhstan’s new unicameral parliament, the Kurultai, which President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev previously said would take place in August. Utemisov stressed that draft amendments to the Constitutional Law “On Elections,” adopted by the outgoing parliament, contain no provisions introducing mandatory voting. According to him, the CEC also has no plans to initiate such amendments in the near future. The election official added that ensuring voter turnout should be the responsibility of political parties participating in campaigns. At the same time, he warned that any attempts to encourage participation through cash payments or gifts could be interpreted as voter bribery. During the joint parliamentary session, lawmakers also approved the Constitutional Law “On the Kurultai of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Status of Its Deputies,” which will enter into force on July 1. The new parliament will consist of 145 deputies, compared to the current bicameral legislature, which includes 148 members, 98 deputies in the Mazhilis and 50 senators. Deputies in the Kurultai will serve five-year terms. Elections will be held exclusively under a proportional representation system based on party lists. “The draft law defines the place of the Kurultai within the system of state authorities, the principles of its operation, its structure, the procedure for its formation, and the mechanisms for exercising its powers,” Mazhilis deputy Aidos Sarym said. According to Sarym, the legislation also establishes the powers of the new parliament to adopt laws, participate in the formation of state bodies, and conduct parliamentary oversight. A separate provision states that the Kurultai will become the legal successor to the current parliament. The Times of Central Asia previously reported that the August vote will become Kazakhstan’s first parliamentary election in which citizens vote exclusively for political parties rather than individual candidates.

Hungary

Tokayev Congratulates Péter Magyar on Victory in Hungary’s Parliamentary Elections

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has sent a congratulatory telegram to Péter Magyar, leader of the TISZA party, following his victory in Hungary’s parliamentary elections. According to the presidential press service, Tokayev noted that the election results reflect a high level of public trust in the TISZA party and its program and expressed confidence in Hungary’s continued sustainable development. Tokayev emphasised that Astana attaches great importance to strengthening its strategic partnership with Budapest, reaffirming readiness to expand bilateral cooperation for the benefit of both countries. He also wished Magyar success in his new role, along with prosperity and well-being for the Hungarian people. So far, there have been no reports of congratulatory messages from other Central Asian leaders addressed to Hungary’s new leadership. Hungary’s political transition following the defeat of Viktor Orbán’s party and his resignation has drawn attention not only in the European Union and the U.S., but also in Central Asia, where Budapest has actively developed economic and energy cooperation in recent years. During Orbán’s tenure, Hungary expanded engagement with Central Asian states, seeking to diversify energy supply sources and reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas. In this context, resource-rich Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan emerged as key partners. One key question now is whether the country’s new leadership will maintain this course, including cooperation in energy, investment, and trade. Experts note that the durability of these ties will depend on the foreign policy priorities of Magyar’s government and its approach to relations with the European Union and partners beyond it.

Hungary

Hungary’s Political Shift Puts Central Asia Partnerships Under Scrutiny

Hungary’s political transition following the defeat of Viktor Orbán’s party and his resignation as prime minister is drawing attention not only in the EU and the United States, but also in Central Asia, where Budapest has built growing energy and investment ties. The key question is whether the policy of cooperation with Central Asia developed under Orbán will continue under the new leadership. In recent years, under Orbán, Budapest has actively developed its Central Asian foreign policy, primarily driven by the desire to find alternatives to Russian energy supplies. That push reflects Hungary’s long-standing reliance on Russian oil and gas, which has shaped its search for alternative suppliers beyond Europe. Resource-rich Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan became natural partners for diplomatic engagement. Orbán succeeded in building trust-based relationships with the presidents of the Central Asian republics, grounded in what Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, described as “sincere friendship” in an interview with Uzbek media. “In Hungary, we have always viewed Central Asia as one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, with enormous potential. Our efforts to build these relations did not begin today, but decades ago,” he said. Hungary became the first Central European country to sign a strategic partnership with Kazakhstan in 2014. Currently, the Kazakhstan-Hungary Business Council is in operation, along with a joint agricultural direct investment fund. In 2024, bilateral trade approached $200 million, and from January to August 2025, it grew by another 22.1%, exceeding $164.6 million. Hungarian investments in Kazakhstan’s economy have surpassed $370 million, while the current investment portfolio includes 16 projects worth about $700 million in engineering, agriculture, and logistics. These links also intersect with wider efforts to expand east–west transport routes through the Caspian region, offering Hungary indirect access to Central Asian energy and trade flows. In May 2025, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held talks with Orbán in Budapest, where both sides highlighted rising trade volumes and a joint investment portfolio of about $500 million. Hungary’s OTP Bank entered into Uzbekistan’s financial market in 2023, acquiring a 73.71% stake in Ipoteka Bank, becoming its principal owner and the majority shareholder of the country’s fifth-largest bank. As early as 2019, Hungary had intensified cooperation with Turkmenistan. After talks at the Turkmen Foreign Ministry, Szijjártó told the media that Hungary views Turkmenistan as an important country from the perspective of European security. “We very much hope that Turkmenistan’s gas resources will be integrated into the overall energy flow of Central Europe,” he said. However, uncertainty remains over whether this policy direction will continue under Orbán’s successor, Péter Magyar. Oil and gas analyst Oleg Chervinsky has suggested that political changes in Hungary could affect cooperation with Kazakhstan’s national company KazMunayGas (KMG). Chervinsky notes that, having secured a constitutional majority in parliament, Magyar has a mandate to “implement reforms in both foreign and domestic policy [which could] reshape the constitutional structure of the right-wing populist authoritarian system built around Orbán.” The analyst points to Hungary’s oil and gas company MOL Group, which in recent...