Presidential elections were held in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

for the first time on 1 December 1991.

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...

was elected with 99% of the vote, based on a turnout of 88%.

Background

On 24 April 1990, the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR established the post of President of the Kazakh SSR and chose its chairman

to be the president for a term of 6 years. Due to the preceding events of the

collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, on 16 October 1991, the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR set the election day for 1 December. The law established requirements for a 100,000 signatures in order to be qualified to be a presidential candidate, which coincided with the requirements of the relevant law of the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

, although the population of the Kazakh SSR was several times smaller. On 24 October 1991, Nazarbayev was registered by the Central Election Commission to be the incumbent candidate with his running mate

Yerik Asanbayev Erik Magzumuly Asanbayev ( kk, Ерік Мағзұмұлы Асанбаев, ''Erık Mağzūmūly Asanbaev''; 10 March 1936 – 23 August 2004) was a Kazakh statesman and vice-president of the Republic of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 1996. Biography ...

to be on a secret ballot. The members of the Supreme Council proposed a writer,

Olzhas Suleimenov Olzhas Omaruly Suleimenov ( kz, Олжас Омарұлы Сүлейменов, ''Oljas Omarūly Süleimenov''; russian: Олжа́с Ома́рович Сулейме́нов, ''Olzhas Omarovich Suleymenov'') is a Kazakh former Soviet dissident, ...

, to be the candidate but he declined the offer.

Hasen Qojahmetov Hasen Káripjanuly Qojahmetov ( kk, Хасен Кәріпжанұлы Қожахметов; born 9 August 1949) is a Kazakh political activist, composer, journalist, and a member of the Writers Union of Kazakhstan, and a participant in the 1986 Je ...

, leader of the

Jeltoqsan National Democratic Party The Jeltoqsan National Democratic Party was an unregistered political party in Kazakhstan. The party was founded on 31 May 1990 by a group of victims of the Jeltoqsan protests that took place in 1986. Its first leader was Hasen Qojahmetov, who wa ...

, did not have the required number of signatures for the election.

Results

References

{{Kazakhstan elections 1991 elections in the Soviet Union 1991 elections in Kazakhstan

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

Single-candidate elections