哈薩克斯坦獨立後的政治發展－－兼論第二次總統大選

Political Development in Post-Independent Kazakstan - The Second Presidential Election

哈薩克斯坦提前於今年元月舉行第二次總統選舉，此舉不但遭致反對勢力的抨擊，而且也受到了西方國家與組織的不滿與批評。自一九九一年獨立以來，納札爾巴耶夫首先在第一次的總統選舉中以近乎百分之百的得票率正式登上總統寶座以後，即表明要繼續朝著民主改革與市場經濟之路前進，若干年來，儘管納氏自稱是一位具有民主思想的領導者，可是西方認為他的執政方式只比在蘇共統治時期稍好一些。經濟轉軌後的速度比政治改革來得快已成了若干原蘇聯各共和國的特徵，而哈薩克斯坦也不例外。納札爾巴耶夫憑著國家豐富的天然資源來改善經濟，雖已使其國民所得比近鄰的一些「獨立國家國協」成員國要來得高些，然而其人民所享受的政治權利與基本自由卻不見得較這些國家更為理想。如今納氏又連任了哈圓的總統，但如果他在民主改革之路上能加緊腳程，甚或趕上經改步調的話，那麼哈薩克斯坦被稱為中亞第一大國則是名符其實的。

The October 1998 announcement of the Kazakstani parliamentary calling for an early presidential election not only resuIted in fierce attacks by the opposition, but also invited dissatisfaction and criticism by the West. Since Kazakstan gained her independence, Nulsutan A. Nazarbayev won a popular election in an uncontested race in December 1991. He vowed to move forward along the path of democratic reform and a free-market economy. Even though he regarded himself as a leader with democratic ideals, the West has witnessed little progress since he has came to power. That the speed of economic transition appears to be faster than that of political reform is general1y the case in the former Soviet states-Kazakstan is no exception. Nazarbayev has improved the country's economy by utilizing the country's rich resources and Kazakstan has achieved the highest per capita GDP among her neighboring states. However，the political rights and civilliberties of Kazakstan are no better than those enjoyed by other peoples in the region. Given his re-election to a second term, Nazarbayev now has the opportunity to step up the pace of democratic and economic reforms. If he can achieve these, Kazakstan would deserve its reputation as the number one power in the Central Asian area.