Kazakhstan opens way for 2-party parliament

ALMATY. February 10. KAZINFOM Kazakhstan's president has signed legislation to guarantee at least two parties are represented in the Central Asian nation's parliament.

Longtime President Nursultan Nazarbayev's party won every seat in the lower house of parliament in 2007. Now the authoritarian leader is seeking to improve Kazakhstan's democratic credentials ahead of its chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe next year. Existing law requires parties to receive at least 7 percent of the vote nationwide to win any seats. But the new legislation stipulates that the runner-up party will get seats even if it falls short of that target. The next elections are scheduled for 2012, Kazinform cites the press service of the Kazakh Embassy in the USA.