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| Kazakhs elect reshaped parliament | Kazakhs elect reshaped parliament |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| People in Kazakhstan are voting in parliamentary elections which President Nursultan Nazarbayev hopes will improve his country's democratic credentials. | |
| He called the poll two years early to introduce a series of constitutional changes which expand parliament and introduce proportional representation. | |
| The country's state-controlled media has already hailed this vote as a landmark election. | The country's state-controlled media has already hailed this vote as a landmark election. |
| The changes would allow Mr Nazarbayev to run for office as often as he wants. | |
| More than 1,000 international observers have registered to monitor the vote, half of them from member states of the European security and democracy organisation, the OSCE. | |
| It is due to decide later this year whether to allow the Kazakh leader to chair the organisation in 2009. | |
| Term limit lifted | |
| Throughout the campaign, and in hundreds of speeches, articles and television appearances, the candidates from the governing Nurotan party have talked about the democratic change this election is about to bring. | Throughout the campaign, and in hundreds of speeches, articles and television appearances, the candidates from the governing Nurotan party have talked about the democratic change this election is about to bring. |
| The opposition says it wanted to argue but was not given a platform. | The opposition says it wanted to argue but was not given a platform. |
| It says that state newspapers censored its statements, and all television stations refused to air its campaign advertisements. | It says that state newspapers censored its statements, and all television stations refused to air its campaign advertisements. |
| Still, says the BBC's Natalia Antelava in Astana, it is the first time in many years that the opposition is hopeful about its chances of getting into parliament. | |
| Until now, the country's main opposition party has not had a single representative. | Until now, the country's main opposition party has not had a single representative. |
| Low-key personality cult Q&A: Parliamentary elections | Low-key personality cult Q&A: Parliamentary elections |
| But the new legislature will reflect constitutional changes that make parliament bigger, in some ways more powerful and, the opposition hopes, more diverse. | But the new legislature will reflect constitutional changes that make parliament bigger, in some ways more powerful and, the opposition hopes, more diverse. |
| President Nazarbayev says the changes show that he is serious about democracy. | President Nazarbayev says the changes show that he is serious about democracy. |
| What undermines his words is that the new parliament will mean more power for the president, too, our correspondent says. | |
| The constitutional changes which brought about this election lifted a term limit for Mr Nazarbayev. | The constitutional changes which brought about this election lifted a term limit for Mr Nazarbayev. |
| Once the country has a new parliament, the new constitution will be enforced and the president will also have the right to run for office as many times as he likes. | Once the country has a new parliament, the new constitution will be enforced and the president will also have the right to run for office as many times as he likes. |
| That is why many here say this parliamentary election is mostly about President Nazarbayev. | That is why many here say this parliamentary election is mostly about President Nazarbayev. |