At stake in this election:

• 16 seats in the Senate of Kazakhstan *

* The election is indirect. Only 3,279 electors (registered voters) will be allowed to vote.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Nursultan Abishevich NAZARBAYEV *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Karim MASIMOV
• Assembly: Kazakhstan has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 47 seats and the House of Representatives (Mazhilis) with 107 seats.

* A 2007 constitutional amendment shortened the presidential term from seven years to five years. However, these changes will only take effect after NAZARBAYEV's term ends.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 5-year term.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.
• In the Senate, 15 members are appointed by the president to serve 6-year terms, and 32 members are indirectly elected by regional legislatures in a secret-ballot vote to serve 6-year terms.*
• In the House of Representatives (Mazhilis), 98 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms and 9 members are appointed to serve 5-year terms.**

* In the Senate, 15 members are appointed by the president, and 32 are indirectly elected by oblast-level government bodies, all to serve 6-year terms. Moreover, the senate operates on a rotating basis where half the seats are re-elected (indirectly) every three years.

** The PR tier is one, nationwide district with a seven percent threshold. The remaining nine deputies are chosen by the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, an unelected body containing 364 members formed by the President of Kazakhstan. Under the 2009 amendments to the Constitutional Law on Elections, if only one political party manages to clear the 7 percent threshold set for entrance into the Majilis, the runner-up party will also be allowed to have deputies in the chamber

Last election note:

• The last elections to the Senate were held in 2011.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 17,289,224 (2014)
• Registered Voters: 3,279 (October 2014)*

* The election is indirect. Only 3,279 electors (registered voters) will be allowed to vote.

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 8,941,268 (2014)

·         Is Kazakhstan a signatory to CEDAW: N/A

·         Has Kazakhstan ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (26 August 1998)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 17 (Assembly) following the 2007 elections; 1 (Senate) following the 2014 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 56 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Kazakhstan a signatory to CRPD: Yes (11 December 2008)

·         Has Kazakhstan ratified CRPD: Yes (21 April 2015)

·         Population with a disability: 2,593,383 (est.)