Jambyl Ahmetbekov 2019 presidential campaign
# Jambyl Ahmetbekov 2019 presidential campaign

Secretary of the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan (QKHP) and Mazhilis MP Jambyl Ahmetbekov was unanimously nominated as a presidential candidate at the party's 14th Congress on 26 April 2019. Ahmetbekov was the party's nominee in the 2011 presidential election where he earned 3rd place in the race and took 1.36% of the vote. He began collecting signatures on 29 April and was finished by 4 May 2019. Ahmetbekov was officially registered by the Central Election Commission on 6 May. He expressed his confidence in the race claiming his experience and known popularity would benefit him. Ahmetbekov's campaign officially announced the electoral platforms on 14 May and the following day, Ahmetbekov himself presented them in the villages of Korgalzhyn and Shalkar in Akmola Region.

## Policies

* Bringing oligarchic fugitives to justice
* Taxation for the rich
* Ending poverty
* Rejection of westernization
* Economic integration with neighboring countries

### Economic policy

Ahmetbekov advocated the continuation of economic integration in international relations with neighboring countries, both within the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and the Belt and Road Initiative with China. Although he stated that "economic interaction with the closest neighbors should carry the basis for the growth of the well-being of ordinary Kazakhstanis, not oligarchs."

## Campaign

Throughout the campaign, Ahmetbekov took a populist tone where he blamed the lack of social spending on "fugitive oligarchs" in which he referred to exiled Kazakh banker and politician Mukhtar Ablyazov by accusing of stealing all the government budget money. He called for prosecution and tighter legislation to combat the problem. In an interview to Vlast.kz, Ahmetbekov proposed for regulation of certain content on the internet by having Kazakhstan creating its own Facebook, telling that "no one from the outside would act on us, on our brains! The same fugitive oligarch like Ablyazov. Or his supporters, or his henchmen who process the brains."

On 20 May 2019, he held meeting with the labor collective of the Kyzylorda Bus Depot.

## Results

Results of the 2019 presidential election

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Kassym-Jomart Tokayev | Nur Otan | 6,539,715 | 70.96 |
| | Amirjan Qosanov | Ult Tagdyry | 1,495,401 | 16.23 |
| | Dania Espaeva | Ak Zhol Democratic Party | 465,714 | 5.05 |
| | Toleutai Raqymbekov | Auyl People's Democratic Patriotic Party | 280,451 | 3.04 |
| | Amangeldi Taspihov | Federation of Trade Unions | 182,898 | 1.98 |
| | Jambyl Ahmetbekov | Communist People's Party | 167,649 | 1.82 |
| | Sadibek Tügel | Uly Dala Qyrandary | 84,582 | 0.92 |
| Total | Total | Total | 9,216,410 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 9,216,410 | 99.38 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 57,700 | 0.62 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,274,110 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 11,960,364 | 77.54 |
| Source: CEC |||||
