ZHANAOZEN, Kazakhstan — Kazakhstan voted on Sunday in an election designed to put a second party in parliament and ease growing discontent after deadly clashes shook the country's image of stability.
No one doubts that President Nursultan Nazarbayev's Nur Otan party will win by a landslide. The second-placed party will also be guaranteed a presence in the 107-seat chamber, whether or not it clears the 7 percent entry threshold.
But Nazarbayev's most critical opponents have been barred from standing, and the party expected to come second is Ak Zhol, a pro-business group led by a former ruling party member.
"Top-down changes are practically impossible in Kazakhstan," said opposition politician Bolat Abilov. "The president, the ruling party and their circle are too convinced they are right."
Black-clad security forces patrolled Zhanaozen — a dusty oil town in the remote western region of Mangistau, where officials say 17 people were killed in clashes during which police fired live rounds last month —? as polls opened in a blizzard. The first voter at a local school, a middle-aged woman, was presented with a vase. An unclaimed set of crystal glasses awaited the first 18-year-old voter.
"The events that took place here should never be repeated, God forbid," said Kumlyumkos Nurgazinov, 63, an oil-field machinery operator, after he cast his ballot for Nur Otan.
Politicians are wary of the mass protests that greeted disputed elections last month in Russia.
"This is a big examination for us," Nazarbayev said after voting in the national library in Astana. "I'm sure Kazakhs will make the right choice for their future and for our peaceful development."