Aug.23.- NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV must be very gratified. After 18 years as Kazakhstan's president, and 16 of post-Soviet independence, he has managed to bend its political system enough to bring it full circle. Following parliamentary elections on August 18th, the country has become a one-party state once again. The authoritarian Mr Nazarbayev, who heads the winning Nur Otan ("Ray of Light-Fatherland") Party, is once more its undisputed leader, with an added bonus: the country is now a nominal democracy.

Nur Otan won all the contested 98 seats of the Majilis, the lower house of parliament, with 88% of the vote. None of the other six parties in the running, including Ak Zhol ("Bright Path") Party and the opposition All-National Social Democratic Party, managed to cross the 7% threshold needed to qualify for any seats at all. The opposition has cried foul and intends to file judicial complaints. But Kazakhstan is not famous for the rule of law, and, if the past is any guide, they will not get very far. The Social Democrats, who had expected from opinion polls to win around 20% of the vote, said they will apply to hold a rally at the end of August, but will not take to the streets without official permission.

According to the election-observer mission of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), a number of international standards were not met. The vote-counting was flawed in over 40% of polling stations the observers visited.

[ Transcribed from The Economist ]