With Amanat Merger, Adilet Is on Track to Be Kazakhstan’s Next Ruling Party

Following its party congress on June 12, Kazakhstan’s ruling party, Amanat, announced that it would seek to merge with the newly registered Adilet party. Two days later, at Adilet’s party congress, the merger was confirmed.

In remarking on the merger, which was unanimously approved, Adilet party chairman Aibek Dadebay said, “This is real proof that Kazakhstani society can unite for the country’s interests.”

Dadebay was elected chairman of Adilet two days after leaving his post in the presidential administration.

The merger of Amanat and Adilet is the latest step in the consolidation – or rebranding – of power under President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The names change but the system stays intact. It’s not a particularly subtle shuffling of the political cards.

Amanat holds the leading majority in the current parliament, 62 out of 98 seats in the lower house. In March 2022, Amanat rebranded from its original name, Nur Otan. A month later Tokayev resigned as its chairman in what he called a “symbolic step.”  

Nur Otan had been the party of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and its rebranding was a clear step in the de-Nazarbayevification that swept through Kazakhstani politics in the wake of January 2022’s Qandy Qantar. 

With Adilet’s sudden appearance this year, smooth registration, and leadership firmly in the hands of faithful Tokayev allies, there is little doubt as to its purpose as a presidential party. Whether the president deigns to be named a member or remains technically apolitical is immaterial.

Amanat’s decision to subsume itself into Adilet is a natural consequence of a political arena that prioritizes displays of unity over actionable debate on priorities or policies. 

In August, Kazakhstan will hold legislative elections, the first under its refreshed constitution. The bicameral parliament is being replaced by a single chamber, the Kurultai. The Kurultai – which borrows its name from an ancient high-level gathering of political and military leaders common across the Eurasian Turkic-Mongol world – will have 145 deputies elected proportionally via party list to five-year terms. 

We can expect Adilet to seize a majority of seats and be heralded as a fresh political wave by an uncritical press. But beneath the hood, the system is very much as it has always been. There can be only one ruling party, and whatever its name its politics are simple: support the president.