Bolat Abilov, co-chairman of the opposition Ak Zhol Party, on 13 November told a correspondent from the Kazakhstan Today news agency that reforms in Kazakhstan are being \"torpedoed\" by the entourage of President Nursultan Nazarbaev and members of the government. Abilov said that the officials opposing economic and political reform do not want Kazakh society to become more open and transparent. Thus, they do not want honest elections, competitive media, decentralization of power, or for heads of regional government administrations to be elected rather than appointed. Abilov said the officials are also opposed to openness in the raw-materials industries. Abilov\'s remarks were part of his account of the recent congress of the Ak Zhol Party, at which preparations began for parliamentary elections in 2004. (gazeta.kz)