The 2021 Nur‑Sultan City Mäslihat election was a local legislative election held in Nur‑Sultan, the capital city of Kazakhstan, on 10 January 2021. It was part of the nationwide local elections (mäslihat elections) that took place across the country on the same day.
Purpose and scope
All seats of the Nur‑Sultan City Mäslihat, the city’s representative council, were contested. The council consists of 31 members elected for a five‑year term through a party‑list proportional representation system.
Participating parties
The election featured candidates from several political parties that had met the legal threshold for participation, including:
- Nur Otan (the ruling party, later renamed Amanat)
- Ak Zhol Democratic Party
- Auyl People’s Democratic Patriotic Party
- Nationwide Social Democratic Party (JSDP)
Election outcome
Preliminary results released by the Central Election Commission indicated that Nur Otan retained a decisive majority of the seats, ensuring continued control over the council’s agenda. The remaining seats were distributed among the opposition parties that surpassed the 7 % electoral threshold required for representation.
Post‑election formation
Following the results, the newly elected council convened to elect its chairperson and to approve the city’s executive leadership, including the mayor (äkim) of Nur‑Sultan. The composition of the council allowed the ruling party to appoint the city’s executive committee and to influence municipal policy.
Context
These elections were the first local elections held after the 2019 constitutional reforms that introduced a mixed electoral system for local legislatures and expanded the role of local self‑government. They were also notable for occurring shortly after the renaming of Kazakhstan’s capital from Astana to Nur‑Sultan in March 2019.
References
- Central Election Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan official results (published January 2021).
- News reports from Kazakh state news agencies (e.g., Kazinform, Kazakh TV) covering the election day and final results.
Note: Detailed seat‑by‑seat distribution, vote percentages, and individual candidate information are documented in the official election report released by the Central Election Commission.
