Elections of rural governors in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan held the elections of governors of 27 rural districts. They were chosen by residents of settlements of Akmola, Aktobe, Almaty, Karagandy, Kyzylorda and West Kazakhstan regions. 38 candidates applied for the post of a governor in 11 villages in the Akmola region. 80 percent are self-nominated.

“This is very important for the people, because we know, whom we choose. We know their activities, their abilities. This is an important moment in the political life of the country, and the village itself. I don’t know whether employment issues would be solved, but it would be necessary to address the infrastructure improvement issues, such as roads, lighting,” said Andrei Tishchenko, a resident of Aidabul village.

“This year, we have an opportunity to elect candidates to governor’s post. It will be the person we have high expectations for, the governor we would like to see in our village. I think that the rural governor has a number of tasks to solve. There are many urgent issues to be solved in the villages,” said Yelena Meyer, a resident of Aidabul village.

The mechanism of direct election of rural governors was launched in Kazakhstan a year ago. Since July 2021, over 1,000 governors have been elected. Until the end of this year, 214 more governors will be elected.