From RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service: Kazakhstan might ban pre-election protests:
“We have to ban any mass gatherings and demonstrations as soon as the preelection campaign is over. You know that there are some political forces in our country who realize their weakness. They know that they have no supporters and have no chance to win. So they plan some kinds of revolutions of orange or other colors. We have to organize really fair elections and if we have fair elections, our people will trust us and never go out to the streets,” [lawmaker Serik] Abdrakhmanov said.
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Nathan Hamm – author of 2040 posts on Registan.net.
Nathan founded Registan.net in 2003. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan 2000-2001 and received his MA in Central Asian Studies from the University of Washington in 2007. Since 2007, he has worked full-time as an analyst, consulting with clients on Central Asian affairs, specializing in how socio-cultural factors shape risks and opportunities. Follow him on Twitter or drop him a line.