ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) – President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s campaign chief on Nov. 22 dismissed allegations of election violations ahead of next month’s presidential vote and accused the opposition of trying to destabilize the energy-rich ex-Soviet republic.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Bakhytzhan Zhumagulov said complaints of official pressure on opposition groups were “unfounded.”
“There is no need for any violations; the president has a very high rating,” he said at campaign headquarters in the capital Astana, where Nazarbayev’s portraits hung from the walls.
“The president would win even if we sat around doing nothing,” he told the AP.
In the Dec. 4 vote, Nazarbayev faces the most serious opposition challenge of his 16-year rule. The 65-year old leader has been criticized for holding back on democratic reforms, but is widely credited with fostering strong economic growth.
He has pledged to ensure the vote is free and fair. No previous elections were considered democratic by Western observers.
Opposition groups have complained of the beating and detention of activists, the seizure of opposition newspapers and a lack of media access. Most television channels are controlled by Nazarbayev’s family or his loyalists.
The campaign has also been marred by the Nov. 12 shooting of a former government minister who was an outspoken Nazarbayev critic and who backed the president’s main challenger, Zharmakhan Tuyakbai.
Referring to a recent Interior Ministry statement that radical forces were preparing to foment unrest, Zhumagulov said the ministry “must have reliable information.” The opposition denied it was planning any illegal action.
“If they do have such plans, I hope common sense will prevail,” he said.
Governments in former Soviet republics have been jittery following election-related protests in Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan which brought opposition leaders to power over the past two years.
Zhumagulov also criticized the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for what he said was a “one-sided approach” in monitoring elections.
Last month, an OSCE interim report noted that Nazarbayev dominated the media and listed instances of intimidation and beatings of opposition activists and the seizure of opposition campaign material.
Zhumagulov said the OSCE report omitted dozens of complaints by the ruling Otan party about alleged campaign violations by the opposition.
Kazakhstan is bidding to chair the OSCE in 2009 and is hoping for a positive Western assessment of the December vote.
