As corruption questions grow in Ukraine, Kazakhstan votes for a single chamber
Ukraine's former defence minister pressed Zelensky to answer questions about corruption around him. In Kazakhstan, only seven state-approved parties contested the election for a new single chamber.
Geopolitics··Evening
Fedorov says the investigation reaches Zelensky's inner circle
Mykhailo Fedorov, who was removed as defence minister last month, said an investigation announced by Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau raised questions about how much President Volodymyr Zelensky knew about corruption around him. The bureau said it had uncovered a scheme to misappropriate millions of dollars in Ukrainian currency to pay bail for a former energy minister accused of money laundering. A senior presidential official alleged to be involved was dismissed. Fedorov also said he had no evidence that Zelensky was personally corrupt and had never received an unlawful instruction from him while they worked together.[1]
Zelensky argues a wartime election would divide the country
Fedorov also repeated his call for a wartime election, which Zelensky opposes. In remarks released on Sunday, Zelensky said holding a vote during the war would carry a huge risk and divide the country. A presidential spokesperson told the BBC that it was strange for a former minister who had served in every government since 2019 to describe them as other people's governments. Elections in Ukraine have been suspended under martial law since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.[1]
Seven parties contest Kazakhstan's new 145-seat chamber
More than 12 million voters in Kazakhstan were called to elect a new 145-member single chamber created by constitutional changes earlier this year. Officials had said abolishing the upper house would give more weight in decision-making to a parliament that had long played a largely auxiliary role. Only seven state-approved parties, all loyal to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, were allowed to field candidates. The overhaul also reset term limits, allowing the 73-year-old Tokayev to stand again in 2029. Tokayev was the chosen successor of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who ruled for almost 30 years, but broke with him after the 2022 cost-of-living protests in which 238 people died.[2]
