Kazakhstan's ruling party Amanat has announced its merger with the newly formed pro-presidential party Adilet. Speaking at the party congress, Yerlan Koshanov, chairman of the republic's largest political force, said the move would consolidate resources ahead of upcoming parliamentary elections, TASS reports.
«At this crucial moment, we must unite and combine our resources with the new political party Adilet, and, as part of a single pro-presidential force, continue building a just and progressive Kazakhstan together,» he said.
Koshanov stressed that Amanat is not abandoning its principles, convictions, or ideas. «On the contrary, we are making them even stronger, expanding opportunities, and bringing them to a new level of development. There are many examples in world practice of parties merging in the interests of their country. This is a natural and mature political step and process,» he explained.
During the vote, congress delegates backed the reorganization of the ruling party and its accession to Adilet, adopting a corresponding resolution.
As Reuters notes, the decision came ahead of parliamentary elections, the date of which will be announced this summer. Under Kazakhstan's new Constitution, the country's current bicameral parliament will cease its powers on July 1. Within a month, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev must set the date of the vote, in which a new unicameral parliament will be elected.
Adilet was registered by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Justice on June 1 and is headed by Aibek Dadebay, a former head of Tokayev's administration. The party's key priorities include strengthening legality and the rule of law, developing effective institutions, supporting the regions, digitalization, building human capital, and forming a competitive economy.
Amanat itself was created on the basis of Nur Otan, the party once led by Kazakhstan's first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev. In the 2023 elections to the Mazhilis, parliament's lower house, it won the most votes (53.9%), taking 62 of 98 seats.
