Eight parties to compete for seats in Kazakh parliament

Kazakhstan's Central Election Commission (CEC) registered lists of candidates for members of the Majilis (lower chamber of Parliament) from all eight political parties, which have applied for participation in the parliamentary elections, RIA-Novosti reported.
 "The CEC registered lists of eight parties, which included 386 candidates. Four people claims at one MP mandate," the commission said on Wednesday.
According to the CEC, the registered candidates are representatives of twelve nations. Average age of candidates is 54 years. Women make up 21 percent of all registered candidates.
Some 99 percent of candidates have higher education, including 35 percent with legal or economic education and roughly 30 percent are specialists in various sectors of the economy.
Some 13 percent of the candidates are Members of Parliament of the previous convocation, 25 percent work in commercial structures, 12 percent work in public bodies and institutions, roughly 16 percent in the field of science, culture and education.
Registered parties can start electoral campaign on Dec. 16. The elections to Majilis in Kazakhstan will be held on January 15-16. Candidates from party lists (98 members) will be elected on the first day, candidates from the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan (9 members) will be elected on the second day.
According to the elections legislation, at least two parties should have seats in Parliament's Majilis.