1991 Kazakh presidential election
{{Short description|none}}
{{Infobox Election
| country = Kazakh SSR
| type = presidential
| turnout = 88.23%
| previous_election = 1990 Kazakh presidential election
| previous_year = 1990
| next_election = 1999 Kazakh presidential election
| next_year = 1999
| election_date = 1 December 1991
| image1 = Nursultan Nazarbayev (1993, cropped).tif
| nominee1 = {{nowrap|Nursultan Nazarbayev}}
| running_mate1 = Yerik Asanbayev
| party1 = Independent politician
| popular_vote1 = 8,681,276
| percentage1 = 98.78%
| title = President
| before_election = Nursultan Nazarbayev
| before_party = Independent politician
| after_election = Nursultan Nazarbayev
| after_party = Independent politician
}}{{Politics of Kazakhstan}}
Presidential elections were held in Kazakhstan for the first time on 1 December 1991.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p416 {{ISBN|0-19-924958-X}} Nursultan Nazarbayev was elected with 99% of the vote, based on a turnout of 88%.Nohlen et al., p424
Background
On 24 April 1990 the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR established the post of President of the Kazakh SSR and chose its chairman Nursultan Nazarbayev to be the president for a term of 6 years.{{Cite web|title=Официальный сайт Парламента Республики Казахстан|url=http://www.parlam.kz/Information.aspx?doc=5&lan=ru-RU|website=www.parlam.kz|access-date=2020-05-01}}
Due to the preceding events of the collapse of the Soviet Union, on 16 October 1991 the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR set the election day for 1 December. The law established requirements for a 100,000 signatures in order to be qualified to be a presidential candidate, which coincided with the requirements of the relevant law of the Russian SFSR, although the population of the Kazakh SSR was several times smaller.{{Cite web|title=Демократия выборов в Казахстане : Авторитарная эволюция|url=http://www.law.edu.ru/doc/document.asp?docID=1138343#_ftnref35|last=Куртов|first=Аждар|date=2000|website=Юридическая Россия|language=ru|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307154125/http://www.law.edu.ru/doc/document.asp?docID=1138343 |archive-date=2016-03-07 |access-date=2020-05-01}}
On 24 October 1991 Nazarbayev was registered by the Central Election Commission to be the incumbent candidate with his running mate Yerik Asanbayev as vice president to be on a secret ballot.{{Cite web|title=Chronicle 1990-1991|url=http://www.akorda.kz/upload/hronika/hronika_swf/1990-1991/index.html|website=www.akorda.kz|access-date=2020-05-01}}{{cite book |last1=Vassiliev |first1=Alexei |title=Central Asia: Political and Economic Challenges in the Post-Soviet Era |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XTwhBQAAQBAJ |publisher=Saqi |date=1 September 2013|isbn=9780863567742 }}
The members of the Supreme Council proposed a writer, Olzhas Suleimenov, to be the candidate but he declined the offer. Hasen Qojahmetov, leader of the Jeltoqsan National Democratic Party, did not have the required number of signatures for the election.{{Cite web|title=Маленькие нюансы отечественных выборов {{!}} 09.02.11 {{!}} Данияр Ашимбаев {{!}} Кто есть кто в Казахстане|url=https://kazbio.info/?S=136|website=kazbio.info|access-date=2020-05-01}}
Results
{{Election results
|cand1=Nursultan Nazarbayev|party1=Independent|votes1=8681276
|row2=Against|votes2=107252
|invalid=198
|electorate=9961242
|source=Nohlen et al.
}}