DND Monitoring Team
Monitoring Desk: Kazakh police arrested dozens of people during a rare public protest on May 1 against the upcoming elections, reports Voice of America News.
Other media reports suggested that demonstrators were demanding for a boycott of the June Presidential Elections, claiming that election under present system would mean continuing authoritarian rule.
Participants in the rally in Almaty demanded the release of political prisoners and not build a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan. Among other slogans were “Nur-Sultan – not my capital”, “Tokayev – not my president”, “Dariga – not my speaker of the Senate”.
Protests were held in the largest city of Kazakhstan, Almaty and in the recently renamed capital Nur-Sultan. VOA reported that authorities said that police arrested 80 people.
The demonstrators who were opposing forthcoming elections claimed that they would have no choice in the June elections, announced shortly after President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled the country for many years, suddenly announced his resignation in March.
It is pertinent to mention that demonstrators were of the view that ruling party of former President Nazarbayev should not contest election and sitting President Kasym-Zhomat Tokayev would win election without proper contest because of country’s institutions are reporting him and there was no chance of free and fair elections in Kazakhstan.
