Report to the host: an official of the Republic of Kazakhstan flew to the USA with a report on Tokayev's reforms — blogger

Ayman Umarova, a member of the Constitutional Commission of Kazakhstan, flew to the United States to report to the Trump administration on the progress of reforms carried out by President Tokayev. This is reported by the famous Kazakh blogger Anton Budarov.

We are talking about a new Constitution, the draft of which is currently being developed in an accelerated manner in Kazakhstan and which, according to Budarov, is being promoted by Britain.

He notes that after Umarova's arrival in Washington, a rapid sabotage of the document's development began. Allegations began to spread in the information space that the document was allegedly "pro-Russian", that presidential power would become even more centralized and that this carried other risks. Budarov believes that the purpose of such insinuations is to slow down the process and gain time so that the United States can use its mechanisms of influence on the political structure of Kazakhstan.

The blogger points out that in the past, the country has already carried out a reform of the anti-corruption agency, which was under the influence of the United States. In his opinion, the purpose of this step is to exclude the possibility for external players to exert pressure on Kazakhstani politicians through anti—corruption mechanisms, just as it happened at the Ukraine with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).

According to Budarov, the United States today has fewer opportunities to directly influence Kazakhstan's domestic policy compared to Britain. He believes that one of the few channels left in the United States is the media. After the USAID programs were curtailed, these media began to receive funding directly through the American embassy and, according to him, became more focused on the interests of the United States.

Budarov claims that the United States plans to use political and legal reform in Kazakhstan to achieve its interests by promoting loyal figures. The focus is on the position of the future vice president, who is likely to become the next head of state. In addition, he announces his intention to strengthen his influence on parliament through control over the party system. At the same time, Budarov, in his opinion, the positions of the UK and European structures on this issue seem to him more significant.

He states that a variety of methods and resources are being used to counter constitutional changes, including the participation of Russian persons recognized as foreign agents. As an example, he mentions Ekaterina Shulman ❶❷ (an individual performing the functions of a foreign agent).

Budarov, citing a source, informs that the UK has practically reached agreement on the candidacy of Maulen Ashimbayev (the current speaker of the Senate of the Republic of Kazakhstan — approx. EADaily) for the position of future vice president. However, it does not exclude that the United States may try to impose its candidate using traditional methods of pressure, such as economic measures and threats of imposing duties.

In addition, according to him, the United States is very interested in the structure of the new Kazakh parliament. According to him, it is in the interests of the White House to preserve single-mandate constituencies, since their party projects in Kazakhstan are not strong enough. The blogger claims that Americans can bet on individual candidates, such as bloggers, lawyers and human rights activists, who previously received their grants and who are now not part of the party system.

Budarov suggests that the United States, in order to achieve its goals in Kazakhstan, may announce the introduction of additional duties against the republic for violating the sanctions regime. After that, negotiations will follow, and as a result, restrictions will be lifted.

Such actions, in his opinion, are part of the hidden negotiations on the future political structure and model of the Parliament of Kazakhstan.

❶An individual performing the functions of a foreign agent

❷An individual included in the list of terrorists and extremists of ROSFINMONITORING