The underlying idea of political reforms is to create a “governable democracy” and to consolidate the society under the slogan of national unity, giving priority to political stability over democratic reforms. State officials in their talks with western political circles reiterate that Kazakh society is not ready to accept democratic ideas. The same point is pressed home to the domestic audience. Speaking at the congress of the Otan party, President Nursultan Nazarbayev said that some media outlets were propagating ethnic strife and clan separatism. “This is absolutely inadmissible. Freedom does not mean irresponsibility… Everyone should be held responsible for his words and deeds. Otherwise the very pivot of democracy, freedom, will turn into chaos… We must keep in mind that democracy is not a thing to be simply declared. Democracy must be built in the process of long and hard work. And it takes time” stressed the president.

On the other hand, under the new geopolitical situation in Central Asia, expanding military and political ties with NATO countries and the U.S. entails a necessity to reshape the political system taking into account Western values. It is getting increasingly difficult for the leadership of Kazakhstan to stick to the authoritarian type of rule. In some cases, the ruling elite is quite successful in face-lifting the façade of democracy, and it helps to manipulate effectively the political process. The recently announced creation of the National Commission on problems of democracy and civic society, which is to replace the Permanently Acting Council set up only two years ago, is viewed by political observers as one of such moves intended to create an impression of a “constructive dialogue” between the opposition and the regime. It should be recalled that the Permanently Acting Council (PAC) initiated by state ideologists has been widely viewed as nothing more than a guise of democracy created only to advance the official line. For that reason, many opposition parties left that ambiguous organization. Bauyrzhan Mukhamedzhanov, deputy head of the Administration of the president, admitted that PAC fell short of expectations that it would lead to a dialogue between different political forces because it got bogged down in clashes of views between numerous irreconcilable members of various parties. To avoid such useless debates in the newly-baked commission, he suggested that each political party send only one representative to the National Commission.

Theoretically, the National Commission on problems of democracy and civic society must bring together all political parties for an open discussion of any issues on equal basis. However, since the National Committee as a consultative body is created at the presidential administration, it can be feared that opposition parties will not have much say in the committee.

Nevertheless, new developments clearly indicate that the authorities are making efforts to polish up the country’s stained image. On August 11, leaders of the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan party announced that Galymzhan Zhakiyanov, a former rebellious governor of the Pavlodar region who in November of 2001 created the DCK opposition party along with other top-placed democratically-minded government members, was released from his cell in Kushmurun prison in Kostanay region to be transferred to colony settlement with greater freedom of movement. In August 2002, Zhakiyanov was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment on charges of abuse of office, which has never been admitted by him or his defense. After his imprisonment, activists of the DCK launched a wide public campaign demanding his release and collected one million signatures in his support. It seems, however, that it was not public demand that prompted authorities to leniency. Obviously, at least two factors played a role in Zhakiyanov’s fate. First, as part of the democratization process, Kazakhstan is carrying out a widely publicized reform of its penitentiary system, improving prison conditions and reducing the number of the inmates in overcrowded cells. Second, Zhakiyanov’s release from his confinement would avert the criticism from international observers of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights expected to arrive for the September 19 parliamentary elections.

Successful social and macroeconomic programs of the government and praises of economic and political achievements of Kazakhstan from western state and public figures produce a generally positive impression, and serve as a powerful argument against the opposition. Returning from his three-year exile in the U.S., the former editor of the defunct opposition paper 21 Vek, Bigeldy Gabdullin, commented that his views had completely changed in those years, and he abandoned the camp of the opposition who, excessively absorbed by political ambitions, were unable to concentrate on economic and social issues. But the opposition strongly doubts if a country ruled by former communists can ever produce genuinely democratic reform.