Kazakhstan: Authorities employing various tactics to ensure ‘yes’ vote in nuke referendum
Police detain anti-nuclear activists, prevent protests during run-up to the vote.

Kazakhstan is holding a referendum on October 6 on whether to build a nuclear power plant. In the days leading up to the vote, authorities have stepped up pressure on anti-nuclear activists, indicating that the government is prepared to accept only one outcome – a ‘yes’ vote.
The referendum question is straightforward: “Do you agree with the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan?” If a majority of citizens approve, a power plant will be built near Lake Balkhash.
Polling data indicates that a narrow majority favors nuclear power. But, it seems, authorities are taking no chances. Police have detained at least 16 activists in Almaty and Astana over the past week who have been outspoken critics of a nuclear power plant, according to rights activist Bakhytzhan Toregozhina. The homes of some of the detainees were searched. After questioning, several activists were taken into custody, while the rest were released on bail.
The police allege that those taken into custody are suspected of conspiring to foment mass riots in major cities with the potential to cause widespread destruction of property, the news site Vlast.kz reported. Authorities also claimed to have found “propaganda” espousing extremist anti-nuclear views, and uncovered evidence that the detainees were willing to use violent methods to oppose the construction of a nuclear power plant.
Associates of the detainees dismiss the official claims as absurd. They did say, however, that the detainees discussed the possibility of holding a meeting to oppose the nuclear power plant, as well as planned activities, such as convening a training for independent observers of the referendum. They likewise had plans to mount an outreach campaign, featuring posters opposing nuclear power.
Beyond the detention of activists, authorities in six Kazakh cities – Almaty, Aktobe, Pavlodar, Petropavlovsk, Uralsk and Shymkent – have reportedly refused to grant protest permits to groups and individuals intent on opposing nuclear power, according to a local watchdog group called ActivistsNotExtremists.
In September, four activists and two organizations were fined for conducting “illegal public opinion polls” concerning the upcoming referendum. By law, only organizations registered for these purposes can conduct social research related to voting, and only after they notify the Central Election Commission of their plans.
Activist Rysbek Sarsenbay, speaking to Radio Azattyk, RFE/RL’s Kazakh service, suggested that officials are putting pressure on opponents of nuclear power to ensure a “yes” vote. “The authorities see that the majority of the population does not support the NPP and is against its construction. Therefore, in order to stop this, they are engaged in such repressive persecution, pressure, and abuse of the law,” Sarsenbay said. Toregozhina added that the authorities are afraid that the referendum “may not go as planned.”
Officials are conducting a comprehensive get-out-the-vote campaign, enlisting high-profile entertainers and other public figures to publicly support the construction of a nuclear plant, and call on fellow citizens to “contribute to the future of the country.”
Almaz Kumenov is an Almaty-based journalist.
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