Kazakhstan's Majilis may be elected in late March - vice-speaker
ASTANA. Jan 13 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's Majilis may be elected in late March, Majilis Vice-Speaker Abai Tasbulatov has said.
"This is an election year anyway, so a decision [on the early dissolution of the parliament's chamber and the elections] has been made in recent days. We are ready for that because we have accomplished the historic mission of law making vested in us by the president. So, this [the early dissolution] is natural," Tasbulatov told Interfax on Wednesday.
In his opinion, the Majilis elections will be held in March.
"Most probably, then [in March] because the Kazakh constitution requires two months. This cannot happen earlier. So, the most probable [date] is late March," he said.
Representatives of all the three parliamentary factions in the Majilis - Nur Otan, Ak Zhol and the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan - initiated the early dissolution of the Majilis earlier on Wednesday.
Kazakhstan's laws permit the president to decide on the dissolution of the Majilis after having consultations with the speakers of both parliament chambers and the prime minister.
The president shall schedule early elections simultaneously with making a decision to terminate the Majilis' powers ahead of time and the elections shall be held within the two subsequent months.
Powers of the Majilis of the Fifth Parliament are due to expire in fall 2016.
This Majilis consists of 107 deputies, including 98 elected in a direct universal ballot during the early elections of January 15, 2012. Back then Nur Otan gained 83 parliament seats, Ak Zhol gained eight, and the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan gained seven. Nine deputies were delegated to the Majilis by the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan on January 16, 2012.
