KZBlog

In what I guess is supposed to be something like MTV’s Rock the Vote (Sailau means election in Kazakh; I don’t know the word for vote), some pop stars have come out with a video encouraging people to vote in the upcoming Presidential election. International media is portraying them as some of the “hottest pop idols” (RFE/RL), but honestly I’ve never heard of these guys before. It looks more like a B-list to me, not that I’m an expert on Kazakh pop music of course. But certainly Jon Bon-Jovi, Lady Gaga and Rhianna, these guys ain’t:

While the stars claim that their desire to make this video was purely voluntary, it does coincide with the administration’s message. The opposition is pushing a campaign to boycott the vote. Having garnered 5 million signatures in support of the referendum, it would be embarrassing for the President if he didn’t get around the same number of votes in the election. If the opposition can keep voter turnout low, it will cast into doubt Nazarbayev’s claim that he has a mandate from the population of Kazakahstan.

In any case, it is hard to be against a message to encourage young people to vote, even if none of the candidates are to their liking