Kazakhstan to rid itself of stagnation phenomena, reforms to be continued - president

ALMATY. Nov 16 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan will carry on with its reforms, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.

"Most importantly, the reforms will be developed further. Kazakhstan will be dynamically developing and will rid itself of any stagnation phenomena," Tokayev told the Almaty public on Wednesday.

Four packages of political reforms have been fulfilled to date, he said.

"A brand new law on peaceful assembly has been adopted. Elections of village akims have been enacted, and the transition to elections of district heads has been planned. Qualifications for the establishment of parties have been liberalized, and the threshold for election to the Mazhilis has been lowered. A 30% quota has been provided in elections for women, young people and special needs persons," he said.

The reforms enjoy support from the international community, Tokayev said.

"Those trying to present our effort towards the modernization of Kazakhstan as alleged reform limitations and to convince foreign politicians and experts of this are fundamentally wrong. In fact, huge work has been done. Everyone in the world recognizes that Kazakhstan has acquired a new image and content," he said.