By Marat Yermukanov (9/21/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The lower house of parliament of Kazakhstan set the election date for December 4 and defused the tense atmosphere created by the ambiguous position of the Central Election Committee and Constitutional court on the issue. The official announcement came only on September 7. It can be expected that this election will be different in many respects from similar political campaigns held in the past.

By Kakha Jibladze (9/21/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Raising taxes has been a high priority for Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili since his first days in office. In February of 2004, the Georgian government announced they collected $22 million in taxes in the first two months of the year – a 30% jump over the previous year. In June, President Saakashvili announced his plans for a tax code overhaul, and accented the role taxes would pay to improve social conditions.

By Marat Yermukanov (9/7/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The Chinese National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) triggered off a flood of controversial comments in Kazakhstan as it agreed to pay $4.18 billion to buy the Canadian-listed PeroKazakhstan oil company operating in South Kazakhstan. What seemed to be the biggest takeover deal ever made in Kazakhstan by a Chinese company left an aftertaste of national humiliation and a sensation of fragility of Kazakhstan’s position in dealing with its oil-thirsty great neighbor.